By following individually the development of Temora stylifera copepodites from the same brood, we can explain the asymmetrical shape shown by the abundance curves of the successive stages of a cohort when it is raised. The abundance peak corresponds to individuals which have an optimal development, while the tail-end, which gets bigger and bigger from one stage to another, is composed of individuals which could not stay in the head group These individuals never make up for their lateness, but may stabilize it, thus coming back to a normal development rate Development and growth rules are estimated from the best performing individuals and thus represent the optimal potential characteristics for the growth and development of a population Under conditions which limit growth, the spreading of the abundance curves is strongly expressed, and it becomes impossible to observe a peak of abundance in experiments This might explain why results from literature are sometimes contradictory concerning the growth of the same species under conditions which limit development.
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Carlotti et al. (1991) studied this question.
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