Identification of carotenoids in four species of copepods from the Great Barrier Reef

The main carotenoids of four species of copepods found in the Great Barrier Reef were separated by chromatographic techniques including reversed-phase HPLC and identified using chemical and spectroscopic methods and by mass spectrometry.Temora turbinata, which is found in inshore waters was collected from Bowling Green Bay. Centropages furcatus, found in inshore waters and on reefs, and Undinula vulgaris, found near the surface in daylight were collected from Palm Passage. These three species were collected from surface waters using a 300 µm mesh net. Euchaeta russelli, which is found between 100-200m depth was obtained from Myrmidon Reef, on the outer shelf, by oblique towing from 150 meters using a 500 µm mesh net. Carotenoids and caroteno-proteins are common pigments in crustacea. Colour in some copepods has been observed to be variable, depending on the environment they inhabit. Colour variability may also be seasonal and may occur within a species. Analyses were made to identify and compare the types of pigments occurring in four species of copepods, Temora turbinata, Centropages furcatus, Undinula vulgaris and Euchaeta russelli, which exhibit similar variations.