Between 6 November and 12 December 1988, vertical distributions ofCalanus finmarchicus, C. hyperboreus, C. glacialisandMetridia longawere studied at three stations in the Arctic water of the Greenland Sea Gyre (GSG) and compared with two stations in the Atlantic water (AW) of the Westspitsbergen Current. Nine depth strata down to 3,000 m were sampled.C.finmarchicuswas most abundant in AW, C.hyperboreusin GSG,M. longashowed no preference andC. glacialiswas rare everywhere. Stage composition differed with species and water mass. Vertical distribution varied also with water mass in all species butC. hyperboreus, which was always centered between 1,000 and 1,500 m. The other species were concentrated in the upper 300 m in AW and between 1,000 and 1,500 m in GSG, although not all stages followed this trend. Ontogenetic vertical migration leads to significant dislocations of organic matter from the euphotic zone to great depth in the Greenland Sea. In egg production experiments,C. hyperboreusspawned up to 149 eggs female−1day−1. Implications of stage composition, sex ratio, and gonad maturation on copepod life cycles are discus
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