In fact, some studies have shown that heterotrophic microplankton provide a "prey resource sufficient for net lipid synthesis as well as egg production".

[1] C. finmarchicus is a key component in the food web of the North Atlantic, providing sustenance for a variety of marine organisms including fish, shrimp, and whales.

[1] Calanus finmarchicus is especially important ecologically because it shows rapid responses to climate variability, including shifts in species' distribution and abundance, timing of life history events, and trophic relationships.

[6] The organism's overwintering strategy, known as diapause, gives it the ability to survive during long periods of food shortage, typical of temperate and high latitudes.

[7] During this six-month period of hibernation, many of these organisms will sink to depths of 500–2,500m in the ocean, where they remain at rest until the following spring when they awake and return to the surface waters to breed.

The overwintering strategy employed by C. finmarchicus helps it survive intense starving periods and plays a significant role in the organism's life cycle.

More recently, it has been shown that despite low concentrations of phytoplankton (one of the organism's primary food sources), C. finmarchicus maintained relatively high rates of egg production.