Journal of Environmental Biology

Epipelagic mesozooplankton succession and community structure over a

marine outfall area in the northeastern South China Sea

Li Chun Tseng¹, Ram Kumar^1,2, Hans Uwe Dahms¹, Chun Te Chen³, Qing Chao Chen⁴ and Jiang Shiou Hwang*¹

¹Institute of Marine Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung - 20224, Taiwan, ROC

²Department of Zoology, Acharya Narendra Dev College, University of Delhi, New Delhi - 110 019, Inida

³Institute of Fishery Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung - 20224, Taiwan, ROC

⁴South China Sea Institute of Oceanography, Academia Sinica, Guangzhou -510 301 China

(Received: October 24, 2006 ; Revised received: April 04, 2007 ; Re-revised received: May 18, 2007 ; Accepted: June 05, 2007)

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 μm 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 relatively lower abundance of the overall mesozooplankton. Total mesozooplankton abundance did not correlate significantly with temperature, pH, or dissolved oxygen, but correlated negatively with BOD.

Key words: Mesozooplankton, Copepod, Outfalls, South China sea

PDF of full length paper is available with author (jshwang@mail.ntou.edu.tw)

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