Responses of brackish zooplankton under metabolic stress

Article: "Responses of brackish zooplankton under metabolic stress" has been published in Regional Studies in Marine Science, 19 September 2026,

DOI: 10.1016/j.rsma.2026.105465

Abstract: 

Common zooplankton species were measured for variation in oxidative stress and antioxidant defence responses at an offshore and a coastal site in August during the high-growth season. We expected that there are species-, time- and site-specific differences in oxidative stress.

For almost all biomarkers, there were significant differences in responses between copepods Acartia sp. and Eurytemora affinis, and cladoceran Bosmina longispina. Several biomarkers also varied in time. Glutathione reductase was the only variable that showed a significant species - time interaction. Site differences were negligible. B. longispina showed high cellular damage measured as lipid peroxidation. The reason for this is unknown.

We demonstrated that species-specific differences can be considerable in a small area, and the reasons for this is discussed. With escalating environmental changes, eco-physiological biomarkers, providing rapid results, become increasingly important.