Meiofauna abundance on the Gulf of Mexico continental shelf affected by hypoxia

Abstract

Meiofauna were sampled in shallow (8–13 m) continental shelf waters off the coast of Louisiana at three stations on 13 dates from June 1985 to August 1986. Total meiofauna abundances ranged from 525 to 3406 individuals per 10 cm 2 with a mean of 1810 individuals per 10 cm 2. Peak abundances occurred in late spring and early summer while seasonal lows occurred during late summer and winter. The three predominant taxa were Nematoda (91.8%), Copepoda (3.2%) and Kinorhyncha (2.5%). The meiobenthic copepod assemblage displayed low diversity and was dominated by three epibenthic species which together comprised 87% of the copepod fauna. Hypoxic conditions (dissolved oxygen <2mg l −1) developed seasonally on this shelf as a result of water column density stratification and eutrophication during late spring and summer. Abundances of all taxa declined during the summers of both years apparently in response to hypoxic conditions. Copepods were most dramatically affected, dropping from springtime peak abundances (several hundred per 10 cm 2) to virtually zero in a one-month period of time. Copepod density declines were spatially correlated with the onset of hypoxia, as inshore stations developed hypoxia later and underwent declines later. Densities remained low after the return of normal oxygen conditions, rising in the spring of the following year. The effect on nematodes and kinorhynchs was not as dramatic. A single collection of meiofauna from July 1983 in nearby normoxic Terrebonne Bay at similar water depths reveals a high density and diversity of copepods, further suggesting the sensitivity of copepods to hypoxia.