Zooplankton Community Dynamics in a Western Mid-Atlantic Lagoonal Estuary

Abstract

ABSTRACT Howson, U.A.; Buchanan, G.A., and Nickels, J.A., 2017. Zooplankton community dynamics in a western mid-Atlantic lagoonal estuary. In: Buchanan, G.A.; Belton, T.J., and Paudel, B. (eds.), A Comprehensive Assessment of Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey. Zooplankton are an integral component of the food web in estuarine ecosystems. The most recent studies of zooplankton in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, occurred almost 40 years ago. Since then, this coastal lagoon estuary has been affected by anthropogenic impacts that threaten its ecological integrity, including nutrient enrichment, algal blooms, alterations of freshwater inputs, and extensive development around the bay and its watershed. Assessing the zooplankton community in this ecosystem provided updated information on the status of this important component of the bay's living resources. Zooplankton samples were collected from the upper meter of the water column with horizontal surface net tows using bongo plankton nets monthly during the w...