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1. Testing Bergmann's rule in marine copepods

   https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.05545  

   Campbell, Max D.; Schoeman, David S.; Venables, William; Abu‐Alhaija, Rana; Batten, Sonia D.; Chiba, Sanae; Coman, Frank; Davies, Claire H.; Edwards, Martin; Eriksen, Ruth S.; et al (September 2021, Ecography)
2. The relative importance of various mating criteria in copepods

   https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbz075  

   Powers, Matthew J; Wilson, Alan E; Heine, Kyle B; Hill, Geoffrey E; Irigoien, Xabier (January 2020, Journal of Plankton Research)

   Abstract To produce viable offspring, organisms may assess mates via criteria that include traits, such as sex, species, age, reproductive status, population identity and individual quality. Copepods are small, ubiquitous crustaceans that live in freshwater and marine systems around the world whose patterns of mate choice have been long studied in numerous species. Herein, we synthesized decades of experiments describing sexual selection in copepods to assess the importance of mating criteria. We used formal, meta-analytical techniques and mixed modeling to quantify the likelihood of non-random mating associated with mating criteria. In our synthesis of the scientific literature, we found that copepods use several criteria when assessing mates and that these criteria are associated with different likelihood estimates. We report the strongest likelihood of non-random mating when copepods assess the reproductive status of females or when copepods select between conspecific vs. heterospecific mates. We found weak likelihood of non-random mating in studies that provide mates from different populations or that manipulate operational sex ratio. Studies that directly test assessment of individual quality are sparse in copepods when compared to equivalent studies in vertebrates, and we encourage future researchers to explore whether copepods use individual characteristics as key mating criteria. 

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3. Niche conservation in copepods between ocean basins

   https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.05690  

   McGinty, Niall; Barton, Andrew D.; Finkel, Zoe V.; Johns, David G.; Irwin, Andrew J. (November 2021, Ecography)
4. Small copepods could play a big role in the marine carbon cycle

   https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.202000267  

   Tarrant, Ann M. (November 2020, BioEssays)
5. The beta-oxidation pathway is downregulated during diapause termination in Calanus copepods

   https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-53032-5  

   Skottene, E; Tarrant, AM; Olsen, AJ; Altin, D; Østensen, M-A; Hansen, BH; Choquet, M; Jenssen, BM; Olsen, RE (November 2019, Scientific reports)

   Calanus copepods are keystone species in marine ecosystems, mainly due to their high lipid content, which is a nutritious food source for e.g. juvenile fish. Accumulated lipids are catabolized to meet energy requirements during dormancy (diapause), which occurs during the last copepodite stage (C5). The current knowledge of lipid degradation pathways during diapause termination is limited. We characterized changes in lipid fullness and generated transcriptional profiles in C5s during termination of diapause and progression towards adulthood. Lipid fullness of C5s declined linearly during developmental progression, but more β-oxidation genes were upregulated in early C5s compared to late C5s and adults. We identified four possible master regulators of energy metabolism, which all were generally upregulated in early C5s, compared to late C5s and adults. We discovered that one of two enzymes in the carnitine shuttle is absent from the calanoid copepod lineage. Based on the geographical location of the sampling site, the field-samples were initially presumed to consist of C. finmarchicus. However, the identification of C. glacialis in some samples underlines the need for performing molecular analyses to reliably identify Calanus species. Our findings contributes to a better understanding of molecular events occurring during diapause and diapause termination in calanoid copepods. 

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