Copepods are the most abundant metazoans, forming a vital food chain link between the primary producers the phytoplankton and fish. This study presents baseline information on the concentration of 210Po among calanoid copepods isolated from the Kuwait marine area. The concentration of 210Po in six species of copepod, including Subeucalanus flemingeri, Parvocalanus crassirostis, Acartia pacifica, Calanopia elliptica, Acrocalanus gibber, and Euterpina acutifrons were 151.3-158.8 Bq kg-1 wwt, 121.1-129.5 Bq kg-1 wwt, 51.23-54.91 Bq kg-1 wwt, 38.88-40.09 Bq kg-1 wwt, 38.07-38.29 Bq kg-1 wwt, and 33.46-36.50 Bq kg-1 wwt, respectively. The 210Po concentration in seawater shows a seasonal variation, with a higher concentration range of 0.58-0.70 mBq L-1 during summer and autumn, while a lower concentration is found (0.30-0.38 mBq L-1) during winter and spring. The concentration factor among the copepods varies between 8 ∗ 104 and 5 ∗ 105 that is an order of magnitude higher than the diatoms and dinoflagellates.
Keywords: Biomagnification; Concentration factor; Metazoans; Pelagic food chain; Plankton.
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