Trends in Copepod Communities in the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers, New Jersey: 1962-1992

Abstract

The calanoid copepod community was surveyed semi-monthly, from May to July 1992, at three stations in the Navesink-Shrewsbury rivers system, the southernmost branch of the Hudson-Raritan estuary (New York-New Jersey). The dominant species collected during the survey wasAcartia hudsonica, followed byA. tonsa. A comparison of this survey with three earlier surveys suggests that the calanoid copepod community and relative abundance of dominant species have not changed substantially since the 1960s. Findings from a 1972 study, which noted the absence ofA. hudsonica andPseudodiaptomus coronatus as dominant species, were probably reflecting a temporary situation. The variations may have been related to a change in water quality, caused by an upgrade in sewage treatment, completed just prior to the 1972 survey, and/or resulted from the residual effects of Tropical Storm Agnes on this estuary.