| The life-cycle of the harpacticoid copepod <i>Tisbe furcata</i> (Baird, 1837) at 18°C was studied quantitatively. Stage durations were determined by two different methods, using synchronous cohorts. Combined nauplius stages last for 80.4h; the successive copepodite stages take 23.0, 23.2, 28.0 (females) to 23.2 (males), 33.4 (females) to 24.2 (males) and 48.8 (females) to 34.7 (males) h, respectively. Females develop more slowly but more synchronously than males. Age-specific survival and fertility rates were used to calculate the stable stage distribution in an exponentially growing population. From life-table data the following demographic parameters were computed: intrinsic rate of natural increase... |
