Environmental, nutritional and endocrine regulation of diapause in the calanoid copepod, Calanus finmarchicus

Diapause is a key feature of the life-cycle of many marine copepods and is thought to be regulated by a number of interacting factors that range from broad scale environmental cues, through to the action of specific hormonal messengers acting at the cellular level. This work includes study of the interaction between the environment, nutrition, the levels of specific endocrine hormones and their receptors in marine calanoid copepods. In particular, this research aims to develop a predictive capability of the behaviour and life-cycle of C.finmarchicus in the North Atlantic, thereby providing crucial information for researchers developing population dynamics models for this key species.