Description

Apocyclops dengizicus was described in 1900 from Kazakhstan, as Cyclops diaphana var. dengzica. Later, this species was raised to full status and reported worldwide. However, later examination has shown that the "dengizicus" species group consists of several species, including several native to North America (Mirabdullayev and Stuge 1998). Apocyclops dimorphus, once synonymized with A. dengizicus, is known from the western US and Haiti, A panamensis from the eastern US and Caribbean islands, and A. spartinae from Atlantic coast salt marshes (Reid et al. 2002).

Taxonomy

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family	Genus
Animalia	Crustacea	Copepoda	Cyclopoida	Cyclopidae	Apocyclops

Synonyms

Cyclops diaphanus var. dengzica

Invasion History

Chesapeake Bay Status

First Record	Population	Range	Introduction	Residency	Source Region	Native Region	Vectors
1990	Unknown	Unknown	Introduced	Regular Resident	East Asia	East Asia	Shipping(Ballast Water); Ornamental(Aquatic Plant Shipments)

History of Spread

The free-living cyclopoid copepod Apocyclops dengizicus was described from Kazakhstan in 1900, and ranges from the North Africa (Libya, Egypt) , through Central Asia (Iran, Iraq, Uzbekistan, the Caspian Sea), East Asia (India, Malaysia) and Australia (Mirabdullayev and Stuge 1998; Reid et al. 2002). Reports of this species from the Salton Sea CA, are based on records of the native A. dimorphus (Reid et al. 2002). Within this range, A. dengizicus prefers habitats typical for its genus, including inland saline lakes in arid regions, closed brackish lagoons, and occasionally, tidal marshes. Although they tolerate wide ranges of salinity, Apocyclops spp. do not normally occur in marine plankton (Reid et al. 2002; Reid, personal communication, 2003).

Only 3 verified specimens of Apocyclops dengizicus are known from North America, all from the Chesapeake Bay region. In 1990, 2 stage V copepodites (last molt before adulthood), were collected from driven wells in tidal marshes on Wye Island,Queen Annes County MD, on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. In 1998 an adult specimen was collected from a highly atypical habitat for this genus, the leaves of Sarracenia purpurea (Purple Pitcherplant) in boggy land near the North Anna River in Caroline County VA, about, ~10-20 km above tidewater. The vase-like leaves of the carnivorous pitcherplant support a community of small invertebrates and microbes, many unique to this habitat, which digest trapped insects (Reid et al. 2002). Reid et al. (2002) suggest that the individual in the pitcher plant may have been derived from populations in small, isolated, brackish wter-bodies around the Chesapeake Bay, and that this species is likely to disperse rapidly along the Atlantic Coast They suggest ballast water as the likeliest means of introduction. However, tranport with ornamental aquatic plants or fishes seems possible, since copepods of this genus can breed in fresh waters (Reid, personal communication 2003).

Since we know of only 3 specimens from the region at this time, we do not know whether populations are established, but the occurrence in a pitcher plant suggests that abundant source populations might occur near the Chesapeake Bay.

History References- Mirabdullayev and Stuge 1998; Reid et al. 2002

Invasion Comments

Native Region- "Typical habitats for Apocyclops include coastal lagoons and pools and ditches in salt marshes, and inland saline waters -- where they (like Cletocamptus) often develop very dense populations. As far as I know, they never get into actual open-water marine habitats, not even estuaries, or at least do not establish breeding populations there. So for the purposes of your entries I suppose that the "continental" category (Asia) is more exact." (Reid, personal communication, 2003).

Ecology

Environmental Tolerances

	For Survival		For Reproduction
	Minimum	Maximum	Minimum	Maximum
Temperature (ºC)
Salinity (‰)	0.0	26.0	0.0	26.0
Oxygen	None
pH
	Salinity Range	Fresh-mesohaline

Age and Growth

	Male	Female
Minimum Adult Size (mm)	780.0	950.0
Typical Adult Size (mm)	933.0	1150.0
Maximum Adult Size (mm)	1075.0	1350.0
Maximum Longevity (yrs)
Typical Longevity (yrs

Reproduction

	Start	Peak	End
Reproductive Season
Typical Number of Young Per Reproductive Event
Sexuality Mode(s)
Mode(s) of Asexual Reproduction
Fertilization Type(s)
More than One Reproduction Event per Year
Reproductive Startegy
Egg/Seed Form

Impacts

Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay

The establishment and abundance of Apocyclops dengizicus in the Chesapeake Bay region is unknown. We have no information on its impacts on native biota. In closed coastal lagoons and inland saline lakes, this copepod is a potwntial food for fishes.

Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay

Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species

Since the establishment and abundance of Apocyclops dengizicus in the Chesapeake Bay region is unknown, we have no information on its impacts on native biota.

Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species

Since the establishment and abundance of Apocyclops dengizicus in the Chesapeake Bay region is unknown, we have no information on its impacts on introduced biota.

References

Mirabdullayev, Iskandar M.; Stuge, Tatiana S. (1998) Redescription of Apocyclops dengizicus from Central Asia., Spixiana 211: 173-178

Mohamed. Hanaa Hussain; Salman, Salman Daood; bdullah, Abdullah, Abdul Aziz Mahmood (2006) Some aspects of the biology of two copepods: Apocyclops dengizicus and Mesocyclops isabellae from a pool in Garmat-Alli, Basrah, Iraq, Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 8: 239-247

Reid, Janet; Hamilton, Robert IV; Duffield, Richard M. (2002) First confirmed New World record of Apocyclops dengizicus (Lepeshkin), with a key to the species of Apocyclops in North America and the Caribbean region (Crustacea: Copepoda: Cyclopidae)., Jeffersoniana 10: 1-25

Valderhaug, Veronica Alvarez; Kewalramani, H. G. (1979) Larval development of Apocyclops dengizicus Lepeshkin (Copepoda), Crustaceana 36: 1-8

Apocyclops dengizicus

Crustaceans