Data from: Intoxicated copepods: ingesting toxic phytoplankton leads to risky behaviour

Understanding interactions between harmful algal bloom (HAB) species and their grazers is essential for determining mechanisms of bloom proliferation and termination. We exposed the common calanoid copepod, Temora longicornis to the harmful algal bloom species Alexandrium fundyense and examined effects on copepod survival, ingestion, egg production and swimming behaviour. A. fundyense was readily ingested by T. longicornis and significantly altered copepod swimming behaviour without affecting copepod survival or fitness. A. fundyense caused T. longicornis to increase their swimming speed and the straightness of their path long after the copepods had been removed from the A. fundyense treatment. Models suggest that these changes could lead to a 25-56% increase in encounter frequency between copepods and their predators. This work highlights the need to determine how ingesting HAB species alters grazer behaviour as this can have significant impacts on the fate of HAB toxins in marine systems.阐明有害藻华（harmful algal bloom, HAB）物种与其摄食者之间的相互作用，是揭示藻华增殖与消亡机制的核心前提。本研究将常见哲水蚤目桡足类长腹剑水蚤（Temora longicornis）暴露于有害藻华物种芬迪亚历山大藻（Alexandrium fundyense）环境中，考察其对桡足类存活、摄食、产卵及游泳行为的影响。实验结果表明，长腹剑水蚤可顺利摄食芬迪亚历山大藻，且该藻能显著改变桡足类的游泳行为，但未对其存活与种群适合度造成影响。即便将桡足类从芬迪亚历山大藻处理环境中移出许久，其游泳速度与路径直线性仍显著提升。模型分析显示，此类行为变化可使桡足类与其天敌之间的相遇频率提升25%至56%。本研究凸显了开展相关研究的必要性：明确摄食有害藻华物种如何改变摄食者的行为模式，因其对海洋生态系统中有害藻华毒素的归趋具有显著影响。