These data include estimates of upper thermal limits for two common coastal copepods collected from Long Island Sound between July 2017 and November 2019. Individual survival measurements were made for both field and laboratory acclimated individuals exposed to temperatures ranging from 10°C to 39°C. These data highlight how acclimation and rapid adaptation may influence responses of populations to rapid climate change. Data were collected by Dr. Matthew Sasaki at the University of Connecticut.
Copepods were collected using a 250-um mesh plankton net with a solid cod end. Upper thermal limits were measured as LD50, or the temperature at which only 50% of individuals survived after a 24-hour acute heat shock, estimated from a thermal survivorship curve. These curves were generated by exposing individual copepods to a static temperature for 24 hours. Each individual was placed in a 2 mL microcentrifuge tube with 1.5 mL of 0.2 um filtered seawater. These tubes were then moved to 15-well dry baths, set to temperatures between 10°C and 39°C. Each individual experienced only one temperature. After the 24 hour period, survival for each individual was checked. This binary survival data was then used to generate survivorship curves for each collection using a logistic regression. LD50 was then extracted from these curves.
Organism identifiers (Life Science Identifier (LSID))
copepod, Acartia tonsa, urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:345943
copepod, Acartia (Acartiura) hudsonica, urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:149751
Sasaki, M., Dam, H. G. (2025) Upper thermal limits (LD50) for two common coastal copepods during thermal experiments with individuals collected from Long Island Sound between July 2017 and November 2019. Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). (Version 1) Version Date 2025-03-11 [if applicable, indicate subset used]. doi:10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.955739.1 [access date]
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