Epipelagic mesozooplankton succession and community structure over a marine ouffall area in the northeastern South China Sea.

Tseng, Li Chun; Kumar, Ram; Dahms, Hans Uwe; Chen, Chun Te; Chen, Qing Chao; Hwang, Jiang Shiou

Epipelagic mesozooplankton succession and community structure over a marine ouffall area in the northeastern South China Sea.

Date

2008-05-01

Authors

Abstract

This study analyses distribution and abundance patterns of mesozooplankton communities at 13 stations in the coastal waters over a marine outfall area in the northeastern South China Sea. Cruises were conducted in March, June and September 2002, and plankton samples were collected with a 333 microm North Pacific net. The Mesozooplankton was dominated by calanoid Copepods, Cladocera, Chaetognatha and Pteropoda. Stations located near the entrance of the harbor provided a relatively higher abundance of Noctilucales and Radiolarians. In total, 20 zooplankton groups were identified in which, Calanoida, Cladocera, Chaetognatha, Pteropoda, Poecilostomatoida and Appendicularia comprised 92.77% of the total zooplankton abundance. Copepoda dominated in all three cruises, comprising 65.32% of the total mesozooplankton abundance. Samples collected in June recorded higher mesozooplankton abundance than March and September samples. Onshore stations recorded higher BOD values, higher abundance of Noctilucales and Radiolarians and a relativelylower abundance of the overall mesozooplankton. Total mesozooplankton abundance did not correlate significantly with temperature, pH, or dissolved oxygen, but correlated negatively with BOD.

Citation

Tseng LC, Kumar R, Dahms HU, Chen CT, Chen QC, Hwang JS. Epipelagic mesozooplankton succession and community structure over a marine ouffall area in the northeastern South China Sea. Journal of Environmental Biology. 2008 May; 29(3): 275-80