THE STUDY OF ADAPTABILITY OF Drepanopus bispinosus TO TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY IN THE ANTARCTIC BURTON LAKE

The tolerance to temperautre and salinity of a Calanoida copepod: Drepanopus bispinosus from the Burton Lake in the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica, was tested in each season. The results obtained show that the copepod has a marked physiological property of tolerance to low temperature and high salinity, and this property could be strengthened after winter. The response to different temperature and salinity of the copepod evidently expressed the tardy characteristics contrasted with seasons. This means that for a long term in early winter(lower temperature and higher salinity) the animal still has higher tolerance to lower salinity and higher temperature; and it is opposite in early summer. These physiological features are possibly caused by natural acclimatization in the lake. The experimental data were processed and plotted by computer. The correlation of animal’s survival rate with the changes of temperature and salinity presented an approximately smooth surface of a three-degree elliptic sphere.