The Acartia clausi Giesbr. fouling by benthoplanktonic algae is studied in the Sevastopol bay of the Black sea. Eight species of diatomaceous algae are found in the fouling composition. Three maxima - spring, summer and autumn - are registered during a year in the copepods fouling by diatoms, when the fouling biomass was on the average 5.6, 0.004 and 1,5% of wet body mass of planktonic animals, respectively. The intense copepods fouling by epiphytes reduced more than 2.5 times food consumption and fertility and decreased the survivability of copepods. |