Interannual and spatial variability in the physiological ecology of a key forage species, the copepod Neocalanus flemingeri during the spring growth phase

Neocalanus flemingeri, a key member of the zooplankton community and important prey species, is highly abundant during the spring and summer in the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound. This project aims at understanding a critical phase in the life cycle of N. flemingeri – preparation for winter dormancy. High-throughput transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) was used to characterize physiological state in pre-adult N. flemingeri collected in May from different stations (inshore and offshore Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound) and different years (2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018). Gene expression profiles generated from the RNA-Seq data was analyzed to determine physiological differences among stations and years, and how they relate to environmental conditions. The goal was to establish physiological indicators for lipid accumulation rate in the pre-adult by identifying marker genes that best characterize the pre-adults’ progress towards the final molt and dormancy. Data from this project can be found at NCBI: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra?linkname=bioproject_sra_all&from_uid=496596