title: Epipelagic mesozooplankton succession and community structure over a marine ouffall area in the northeastern South China Sea.
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.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Marine Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung-20224, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Li Chun
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.forename: Ram
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Hans Uwe
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Dahms
authors.forename: Chun Te
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Qing Chao
authors.initials: QC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jiang Shiou
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Hwang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D008386:Marine Biology; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D015048:Zooplankton / Q000502:physiology*