Effect of temperature on bacterial abundance in the water surrounding decaying copepod carcasses

The effect of varying temperature on the kinetics of aerobic microbial respiration (a proxy for oxidative carbon mineralization) associated with copepod carcasses was studied in laboratory incubation experiments. Copepod carcasses were produced by exposing female specimens of cultured Acartia tonsa to anoxic conditions for 2 hours. Carcasses were incubated in gas-tight glass vials at 5 different temperatures ranging between 4 and 20°C. Bacterial abundance in the water surrounding the carcasses was determined throughout the incubations.