Abstract:Traditionally, diatoms have been considered major components of marine phytoplankton and the principal food source for calanoid copepods. However, numerous recent studies have challenged the classic concept that copepod production in the marine ecosystem is primarily based on pelagic diatoms. Research during the past 10 years indicate that some diatom species particularly in high concentrations induced inhibitory effects on egg fecundity and hatching rate of copepods. This has been observed both in situ and...