Ingestion and clearance rates of Copepods

All grazers were already actively feeding in the low chlorophyll waters prior to the onset of the bloom. C. simillimus maintained constant clearance rates and fed predominantly on diatoms.

R. gigas and the small copepods strongly increased clearance and ingestion of diatoms in response to their enhanced availability. All grazers preyed on microzooplankton, most steadily on ciliates, confirming the view that pure herbivory appears to be the exception rather than the rule in copepod feeding. The grazers exhibited differences in feeding behavior based on selectivity indices.