Copepod Community Research Articles

The effects of the Patagonian shelf-break front on copepod abundance, biodiversity, and assemblages

Fronts play an important role in ecological processes, having multiple effects on the structure of plankton communities. The Argentine Sea is characterized by the presence of the large and very productive Patagonian shelf-break front (PSBF). This is a permanent front, with high thermohaline gradients defined between the relatively warmer and fresher shelf waters and those of the Malvinas Current. We studied the effects of the PSBF in the vertical and horizontal structure of the copepod community along two transects crossing the front. For all the variables studied, the outer shelf plus the front behaves as a unity, different of the offshore oceanic region. The highest copepod abundances were recorded on the outer shelf and shelf-break front, while the highest diversity was verified in the oceanic regime. Three copepod assemblages were identified associated to different regions: outer shelf and front (OS-PSBF), upper (UMW) and deeper (DMW) Malvinas waters, each one characterized by its own set of indicator species, having different reproductive and feeding strategies. Sac-spawners, ambush or cruise-feeders, and detritivore or omnivore species, occurred in DMW, while broadcasters, filter-feeders and mainly herbivores dominated at UMW and OS-PSBF. The PSBF acts as a leaky boundary between the oceanic regime (UMW and DMW) and the outer shelf-front regime (OS-PSBF), the first one characterized by higher copepod diversity and several functional groups, and the last one depicted by higher copepod abundance and only one functional group. In addition to its high primary production, the PSBF and surroundings are important to provide diversity of pelagic habitats that promote the existence of different assemblages, which are characterized by species having similar functional traits and that could play a similar role in the ecosystem.

Natural or anthropogenic variability? A long-term pattern of the zooplankton communities in an ever-changing transitional ecosystem

The Venice Lagoon is an important site belonging to the Italian Long-Term Ecological Research Network (LTER). Alongside with the increasing trend of water temperature and the relevant morphological changes, in recent years, the resident zooplankton populations have also continued to cope with the colonization by alien species, particularly the strong competitor Mnemiopsis leidyi. In this work, we compared the dynamics of the lagoon zooplankton over a period of 20 years. The physical and biological signals are analyzed and compared to evaluate the hypothesis that a slow shift in the environmental balance of the site, such as temperature increase, sea level rise (hereafter called “marinization”), and competition between species, is contributing to trigger a drift in the internal equilibrium of the resident core zooplankton. Though the copepod community does not seem to have changed its state, some important modifications of structure and assembly mechanisms have already been observed. The extension of the marine influence within the lagoon has compressed the spatial gradients of the habitat and created a greater segregation of the niches available to some typically estuarine taxa and broadened and strengthened the interactions between marine species.

Epilimnetic zooplankton communities in soft-water lakes with isoetids in northern Poland

Soft-water lakes are valuable natural habitats and an important aquatic ecosystems. Lobelia lakes, which are classified based on the occurrence of isoetids, are the most characteristic of this group. The aim of our research was to assess the species richness and structure of pelagic zooplankton communities in the epilimnion of 45 Polish soft-water lakes. The lakes analyzed included a wide range of trophic states from oligotrophic to eutrophic. We noted 79 species of zooplankton, including 49 rotifer, 23 cladoceran, and seven copepod species. The species composition of epilimnetic zooplankton communities in these soft-water lakes was poor, and the species richness and zooplankton biomass were low. In these lakes, the species with the highest frequencies accounted for an important part of the total zooplankton biomass of the zooplankton communities, but the species occurring at lower frequencies differed among the lakes. The most common rotifer taxa were: Keratella cochlearis, Keratella cochlearis var. hispida, Polyarthra euryptera, Gastropus stylifer, and Trichocerca similis. The most important crustacean species in the soft-water lakes were: Macrocyclops albidus, Ceriodaphnia quadrangula, and Eudiaptomus sp. The major factors influencing rotifer species richness were total phosphorus, conductivity, and the trophic state of the lakes. Cladoceran species richness was positively related to lake area and pH, while the species richness of copepod communities was negatively related to chlorophyll a concentrations.

Copepod community structure in the highly turbid innermost part of Ariake Bay in the 2000s with special reference to high abundances of <i>Oithona davisae</i>

Ariake Bay has Japan’s biggest nori seaweed farming field in the innermost part and has suffered from environmental degradation since the late 1990s. To elucidate the seasonal patterns in the copepod community structure in the inner bay, we examined monthly plankton-net samples collected in the top 2-m layer at 11 stations for 5 years from April 2002 to March 2007. Of the 11 stations, 7 were at the high-turbidity site (HTS) representing the nori farming field and 4 in the offshore low-turbidity site (LTS) for comparison. The copepod community in the HTS was dominated almost year round by Oithona davisae, whose 5-year mean abundance of 203 ind. L−1 comprised 84% of copepods and was more than double that in the LTS. O. davisae became extremely abundant in summer with the maximum monthly mean abundance in the HTS of 2756 ind. L−1 and the maximum sample-specific abundance of 10116 ind. L−1. The following predominant copepods in the HTS were Parvocalanus crassirostris in summer–autumn, Microsetella norvegica in summer, Acartia omorii in spring, and Paracalanus parvus s.l. irregularly. Possible causes for high abundance of O. davisae in the HTS are assumed to be sufficient food resources, water temperature over 21°C, and a wide salinity tolerance range of the species.

Cold Dome Affects Mesozooplankton Communities during the Southwest Monsoon Period in the Southeast East China Sea

In order to better understand the cold dome influence on zooplankton community structure, zooplankton samples were collected during the southwest monsoon prevailing period from the southeast waters of the East China Sea. To reduce the bias caused by different sampling months, the samples were collected in June 2018 and in June 2019. An obvious cold dome activity was proven by images of remote sensing satellites during the June 2018 cruise. In contrast, the research area was much affected by open sea high temperature and water masses during the June 2019 cruise. Significant differences in water conditions were demonstrated by surface seawater temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen concentrations between the two cruises. Nevertheless, no significant differences were observed concerning mesozooplankton in general, copepods, large crustaceans, other crustaceans, and pelagic molluscs between the June 2018 and June 2019 cruises. However, the mean abundance of gelatinous plankton was significantly different with 1213.08 ± 850.46 (ind./m3) and 2955.93 ± 1904.42 (ind./m3) in June 2018 and June 2019, respectively. Noteworthy, a significantly lower mean abundance of meroplankton, with 60.78 ± 47.32 (ind./m3), was identified in June 2018 compared to 464.45 ± 292.80 (ind./m3) in June 2019. Pearson’s correlation analysis also showed a highly positive correlation of gelatinous plankton and meroplankton with sea surface temperature (p < 0.01). The variation of salinity showed a significant negative correlation with gelatinous plankton abundance (p < 0.05), and a highly significant negative correlation with the abundance of meroplankton (p < 0.01). Only the abundance of meroplankton showed a positive correlation with dissolved oxygen concentrations (p < 0.05). The copepod communities were separated in two groups which were consistent with sampling cruises in 2018 and 2019. Based on the specificity and occupancy of copepods, Macrosetella gracilis, Oithona rigida, Cosmocalanus darwinii, Paracalanus parvus, and Calocalanus pavo were selected as indicator species for the cold dome effect in the study area during June 2018, whereas the indicator species of warm water impact in the open sea were Calanopia elliptica, Subeucalanus pileatus, Paracalanus aculeatus, and Acrocalanus gibber during the June 2019 cruise.

Annual cycle of mesozooplankton at the coastal waters of Cyprus (Eastern Levantine basin).

This study is the first to explore monthly and seasonal succession of the zooplankton community in coastal waters of Cyprus using a 12-month period time series. A total of 192 taxa of mesozooplankton (MZ), 145 of which were copepods, were identified at three sites at the southern and one site at the northern coasts of the island. Zooplankton distribution and community structure were influenced mostly by stratification, temperature and Chl-a. The combination of upwelling and advection from the Rhodes Gyre during summer, causing cooler waters in the southern coast of Cyprus, seems to control the food supply and offered favorable feeding conditions to zooplankton, enhancing their numbers. The proximity to a fish farm also positively affected MZ abundance and biomass. This study also revealed the importance of smaller species (e.g. Clausocalanus paululus) and juvenile stages (e.g. Clausocalanus, Oithona and Corycaeus spp.) in composition, structure and functionality of the copepod community. These species seems to be more important in low Chl-a environments, where the relative size of primary consumers is expected to be smaller and the microbial components dominant. This baseline study paves the way for further investigation of the elements of marine food webs in the ultra-oligotrophic environment of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Trophic Positions of Sympatric Copepods across the Subpolar Front of the East Sea during Spring: A Stable Isotope Approach

We investigated the trophic relationship between particulate organic matter (POM) and sympatric copepods within the epipelagic zone (~200 m depth) in the East Sea during spring based on stable isotope analysis (SIA). The SIA indicated that interspecific differences in the prey size and vertical segregation of feeding migration range among copepods may promote niche partitioning among sympatric copepods in each region of the subpolar front (SPF). Additionally, our results showed remarkable differences in the copepod community structure and resource utilization across the SPF. The south region of the East Sea showed higher species richness of copepods than the north region, while copepods that fed mainly on POM in the surface and subsurface chlorophyll maximum layers showed smaller body sizes in the south region. These results revealed that the food chain between primary producers and higher trophic levels was longer in the south region than in the north region. Additionally, δ13C and δ15N values of copepods increased gradually with the body size increase whereas δ15N values in the north region showed the reverse trend. Latter results could be attributed to the consumption of deep-layer POM in small copepods. Therefore, we suggest that northward shifts in the distribution of copepods under global warming may decrease energy efficiency in the pelagic ecosystem of the East Sea.

Community structure and driving factors of zooplankton in the littoral zone of Lake Hongze

湖滨带在维持物种多样性、拦截陆源污染物、净化水质等方面发挥着重要作用。近年来,洪泽湖水体污染日益加重,湖滨带面临着围垦、养殖和泥沙淤积等严重威胁。为更好地理解洪泽湖湖滨带浮游动物群落结构的空间格局,运用主成分分析、冗余分析和方差分解,探究了洪泽湖湖滨带浮游动物的密度、生物量和种类结构组成,以及群落多样性和优势种的特征,分析上述参数随环境因子的变化趋势。结果表明,洪泽湖湖滨带浮游动物平均丰度为821.65 ind./L,平均生物量为1247.45 μg/L,成子湖西浮游动物丰度较高,物种较为丰富;淮河口和东部湖岸丰度较低,多样性较低。主成分分析和冗余分析结果表明,溶解性总磷、悬浮物、叶绿素a、COD、溶解性有机碳、水草盖度、pH、溶解氧和风浪扰动是湖滨带主要环境影响因子,与轮虫物种的空间分布具有显著相关性。方差分解结果表明,轮虫主要受到水化学环境因子及其与食物饵料的交互作用,枝角类受水深、浊度和悬浮物等物理生境因子的影响,磷酸盐、pH、风浪扰动和悬浮物与水化学的交互作用对桡足类有明显影响,多样性指数主要受水化学环境因子、物理生境因子、食物饵料的交互作用影响。可见,加强洪泽湖湖滨带生态环境保护和综合管理对维持浮游生物群落结构稳定具有重要意义。;The littoral zone plays an important role in maintaining species diversity, intercepting land-based pollutants, and purifying water bodies. In recent years, the water pollution of Lake Hongze has become increasingly serious, and its littoral zone is facing great threats such as reclamation, aquaculture and sediment deposition. To better understand the spatial pattern of littoral zooplankton communities in the Lake Hongze, the density, biomass and species composition, diversity and dominant species of littoral zooplankton communities were explored, and their relationship with environmental factors were analyzed using statistical analysis including principal component analysis, redundancy analysis and variance decomposition. Results showed that the average abundance of zooplankton was 821.65 ind./L, and an average biomass of 1247.75 μg/L. The zooplankton in the west of Lake Chengzi has higher biodiversity and biomass comparing to the estuary of the Huaihe River and the eastern lakeshore. The principal component analysis and redundancy analysis show that total dissolved phosphorus, suspended solids, chlorophyll-a, COD, dissolved organic carbon, coverage of waterweeds, pH, dissolved oxygen, and disturbance of wind waves were key environmental factors in the littoral zone, which were closely related to the spatial distribution patterns of rotifer species. The variance decomposition results reveal that rotifers are mainly affected by water chemical factors and their interactions with food. Cladocera is affected by physical habitat factors such as water depth, turbidity and suspended solids. The phosphate, pH and the interactions of hydrochemistry features and disturbance of wind waves as well as suspended solids had significant effects on Copepods community. The diversity index was mainly affected by the interaction of hydrochemical factors, physical habitat factors and food. Therefore, strengthening the ecological environment protection and comprehensive management of the littoral zone of Lake Hongze is of great significance to maintain the stability of the plankton community structure.

Carbon budgets of copepod communities in the northern Humboldt Current System off Peru

Abundance, biomass and respiration rates of dominant medium- to larger-sized copepod species (ML class) from the upwelling system off Peru (8.5-16°S) were determined along with their carbon ingestion and egestion rates. Small copepods (S class) were included for comparisons of community rates. Overall, abundance/biomass was highest in the upper 50 m and decreased with depth and thus also community ingestion and egestion. Ingestion of the ML class (0-50 m) in shelf regions (14-515 mg C m-2 d-1) was lower in the south compared to the north and central study areas, while their offshore ingestion (11-502 mg C m-2 d-1) was comparable across regions (8.5-16°S). Ingestion rates (0-50 m) of the S class were in a range similar to those of the ML class in shelf regions (100-417 mg C m-2 d-1) but were higher offshore (177-932 mg C m-2 d-1). Calanus chilensis and the S class contributed most to total ingestion in the north, while in the south, Centropages brachiatus had the highest community ingestion aside from the S class. Egestion varied from 3-155 mg C m-2 d-1 for the ML class and 30-280 mg C m-2 d-1 for the S class. The high community rates highlight the crucial role of both size classes for carbon budgets in the northern Humboldt Current System off Peru and indicate that the ML class may enhance passive vertical carbon flux, whereas the S class may support carbon remineralization rates in surface waters.

Copepod community from Arctic to Antarctic

The use of citizen science and opportunity sampling during commercial or tourist voyages can provide valuable insights into the structuring of the marine plankton community in broad biogeographic areas. With the goal of studying the distribution and abundance of smaller zooplankton using citizen science approach, plankton samples were collected at 33 stations spanning from the Arctic to Antarctic during the cruise of the S/V “Croatian Tern” (1994-1997), using vertical tows with a 53µm mesh size Nansen net in the upper epipelagic layer. In this study, we summarize the observed distribution patterns of planktonic copepods by ontogenetic stages (nauplii, copepodites, adults) and by postnaupliar assemblages (calanoids, oithonids, oncaeids, harpacticoids, corycaeids), reporting also on the numerical ratio of nauplii to postnaupliar copepods, as an important indicator of the stability of copepod reproduction. The highest abundances of total copepods were found in the northeastern and southeastern Pacific, while the lowest values were found in the Mediterranean Sea and Southern Ocean. Overall, the copepod community was dominated by naupliar stages, while most postnaupliar assemblages (calanoids, oithonids, and oncaeids) were dominated by copepodites. Spatially, nauplii and postnaupliar oithonids showed similar latitudinal patterns, with both assemblages dominating in high latitudes of temperate zones on both sides of the equator, while contributions of calanoids, oncaeids, and corycaeids increased at lower latitudes. The ratio of nauplii to postnauplii varied from 1.1 to 6.4, and only at five stations was it slightly < 1. Latitudinally, the median values of this ratio varied from 1.1 in the marginal Arctic to 3.1 in the South Pacific, with no statistically significant differences among areas. The sudden change in nauplii/ postnauplii ratio could signal disturbances in the copepod community, provided that the average values are determined for all marine areas under different productivity conditions.

Assessing Metallic Pollution Using Taxonomic Diversity of Offshore Meiobenthic Copepods

The Gulf of Gabès, located on the south-east Tunisian coast, is an important maritime area, with great influence on the local economy and human welfare. The aim of the current study was to assess the response of meiobenthic copepod populations from this gulf to anthropogenic disturbances. Nine sampling sites, situated along the shores of the gulf were surveyed seasonally from winter of 2004 to autumn of 2005. Interestingly, this biotope has one of the highest semi-diurnal tides in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the fact that the data being presented here are not that new, such a high maximum amplitude of tides reaching 2 m makes any information available on animals with diurnal dispersal cycles such as copepods extremely precious. Furthermore, the lack of knowledge on these crustaceans is obvious and lags behind that of numerous other meiobenthic taxa and planktonic calanoids. Actually, most publications do not reach the species level and are limited to determining densities. This is mainly due to the modest size of harpacticoids, and the lack of qualified taxonomic experts and global taxonomic databases. Sediment samples were analyzed for fluorine, carbohydrates and trace metals (i.e., Fe, Zn and Cd) content. A pollution index, based on the eigenvalues of the main ordination axis of a Principal Component Analysis, was applied. The highest values of chemicals were detected at the sites situated near an industrial complex, along with significant variations among seasons. The copepod community comprised 38 species, including five species new to science. Species richness, density and biomass of copepod communities varied among sites and seasons. These community-based indices were also analyzed separately for each season with conditional autoregressive models, revealing a significant negative response with the level of pollution. However, the results of partial Mantel tests showed positive correlations between species richness and pollution level, after controlling for the effect of geographic proximity in-between pairs of sites (winter: r = 0.927, p < 0.0001; spring: r = 0.935, p < 0.0001; summer: r = 0.918, p < 0.0001; autumn: r = 0.937, p < 0.0001). The overall pattern was that nearby sites were characterized by similar pollution levels and inhabited by similar species of copepods. Moreover, the copepod communities were significantly influenced by pollutants, mainly by trace metals. The results of the current survey emphasize the usefulness of meiobenthic copepods in biomonitoring programs not only for the gulf of Gabès, but also for other coastal areas from the Mediterranean Sea region.

Changes in the structure of the epipelagic copepod community on the western coast of the Baja California Peninsula before and during El Niño 2015

Changes in the structure of the epipelagic copepod community on the western coast of the Baja California Peninsula before and during El Niño 2015

Biogeography and environmental drivers of zooplankton communities in permafrost-affected lakes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Global warming is accelerating permafrost thaw, forming new thermokarst lakes and substantially influencing the old ones. However, the biological communities in thermokarst lakes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) are rarely studied. Here, we assessed the biogeographical patterns of zooplankton communities in 44 thermokarst lakes across the QTP. Across all lakes, 17 Cladocera and 13 Copepoda species were identified, with most of the lakes dominated by Cladocera. Chydorus sphaericus and Cyclops vicinus were the most frequently detected species. Both cladoceran and copepod communities had very low species richness and density, which lacked a clear spatial pattern but positively associated to dissolved oxygen. In general, species richness was negatively influenced by seston particle quantity while the density was positively influenced by water nutrient concentrations. Cladoceran and copepod communities had a high β-diversity (0.89 and 0.91, respectively), which was dominated by species turnover. However, Cladocera had significantly lower β-diversity and turnover component than copepod communities. β-diversity of Cladocera and Copepoda showed a significant but weak distance decay relationship and also significantly correlated with longitude, latitude, mean annual temperature, as well as concentrations of seston particle carbon and nitrogen. In addition, their β-diversities differentially correlated to other environmental variables. Overall, the results suggested that the geographical barriers, climate, and some local environmental variables are key factors in shaping the biogeography of zooplankton community. Although a general biogeographic pattern of zooplankton across the QTP cannot be drawn from this limited dataset, this study provided the first large spatial scale investigation and analyses of zooplankton biogeography in thermokarst lakes on the QTP. Given the important roles of zooplankton in aquatic ecosystems, this study could provide insights for understanding the influences of future environmental changes on thermokarst lake ecosystems.

Zooplankton composition links to climate and salmon survival in a northern temperate fjord

AbstractA zooplankton time series from the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca in the Salish Sea was explored for its relationships to climate variability and survival of Puget Sound salmon populations. Vertical net tows were conducted ~ monthly over the upper 40 m from 2003 to 2018. Species with warm‐water associations that occur year‐round in Puget Sound, and species with cold‐water associations that dominate on the continental shelf during summer upwelling, were important members of the community at different times of year. Shifts in advection from Puget Sound and the coastal ocean were indicated by the abundance of Puget Sound‐dominant copepods Ditrichocorycaeus anglicus and Paracalanus spp. in summer through mid‐fall. In contrast, the coastal upwelling species Pseudocalanus mimus, Calanus marshallae, and Acartia longiremis were most abundant in fall through early spring, despite being the seasons they are least abundant on the continental shelf. Axis 1 of a Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling ordination of the copepod community revealed clear seasonal cycles in community structure and longer‐term variance that correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and local temperatures. Axis 2 correlated to smolt‐to‐adult survival of Puget Sound coho salmon, but not with measured environmental factors. Copepod size composition and biogeographic affinities shifted along that axis. The mechanisms driving the shifts are not clear, but may indicate changes in trophic dynamics, or cryptic responses to environmental changes. These patterns suggest the importance of large‐scale climate influences and local environmental processes that affect estuarine circulation, population growth, and links to economically important fisheries.

Cascading effects of calanoid copepod functional groups on the biological carbon pump in the subtropical South Atlantic

Life strategies, ecophysiological performances and diel vertical migration (DVM) of zooplankton key species affect the efficiency and strength of the biological carbon pump (BCP). However, it is unclear to what extent different functional groups affect the BCP. Depth-stratified day and night samples (0-800 m) from the subtropical South Atlantic were analyzed focusing on the calanoid copepod community. Calanoid abundance, biomass distribution and species-specific impact on the passive (fecal pellets) and active (via DVM) vertical flux of carbon were determined. Species were assigned to different migrant groups where, their contributions were estimated by using the proportion of the migratory community instead of simple day-night differences in biomass. This novel approach leads to more robust flux estimates, particularly for small sample sizes. According to migration ranges and day/night residence depth, functional groups were characterized, i.e. small- and large-scale epipelagic and mesopelagic migrants. Epipelagic small-scale migrants transported respiratory (1.5 mg C m-2 d-1) and fecal pellet (1.1 mg C m-2 d-1) carbon from the upper to the lower epipelagic zone, where the latter can fuel the microbial loop, and thus deep chlorophyll maxima, or be ingested by other zooplankton. Large-scale migrants actively transported up to 10.5 mg C m-2 d-1 of respiratory carbon from the epipelagic layer into the twilight zone. The majority was transported by Pleuromamma borealis (5.7 mg C m-2 d-1) into the upper mesopelagic. In addition, up to 8.0 mg C m-2 d-1 was potentially egested as fecal material by large-scale zone shifters. Mesopelagic migrants transported respiratory (0.2 mg C m-2 d-1) and fecal pellet carbon (0.1 mg C m-2 d-1) even deeper into the ocean. Community consumption of migrants in the epipelagic layer during the night was 98 mg C m-2 d-1, while non-migrants consumed 98-208 mg C m-2 d-1 in the epipelagic zone, with a potential subsequent egestion of 29-62 mg C m-2 d-1. This carbon may fuel omnivorous-detritivorous feeding, the microbial loop and/or may sink as fecal pellets. This case study shows how calanoid functional groups mediate carbon fluxes in the subtropical South Atlantic Ocean and demonstrates how detailed community analyses can elucidate the complexity of pelagic carbon budgets.

Copepod community structure in the transition region of the North Pacific Ocean: Water mixing as a key driver of secondary production enhancement in subarctic and subtropical waters

The North Pacific Ocean subtropical–subarctic gyre transition region is recognized as an important small pelagic fish nursery and feeding ground. To clarify the lower trophic level variability of the transition region pelagic ecosystem, we investigated the large-scale variation in copepod communities in relation to the oceanographic environment. We net sampled zooplankton in the upper 150 m from the coast to approximately 4,500 km offshore to the east (140° E − 165° W) during early summer in 2017 and 2018. Cluster analysis based on abundance and species composition at 233 sampling stations showed that the subarctic boundary, defined by a salinity of 34.0 at 150 m depth, separated subarctic and subtropical copepod communities, as a clear biogeographical border. The two communities were each further classified into four subgroups. Among the subgroups, a typical subarctic subgroup dominated by Neocalanus spp. was broadly distributed in the subarctic HNLC (high-nutrient and low-chlorophyll a concentrations) region, whereas a typical subtropical subgroup characterized by a higher overall species diversity occurred in the warm oligotrophic water. In addition, in both these subgroups, the composition of the chlorophyll a size fraction suggested that the food web was mainly based on small-sized phytoplankton. Further analysis of the other subgroups indicated that both the subtropical and subarctic communities showed distinctive succession patterns depending on the degree of water mixing. During succession, a consistent increase in copepod abundance, especially large-sized suspension feeders (e.g., Eucalanus and Calanus) associated with the high productivity of large diatoms was observed in both main communities. The present study revealed that water mixing in the transition region consistently enhances the grazing food chain in both subtropical and subarctic communities, showing the potential underlying mechanisms of control of prey availability for small pelagic fish that exploit the region as a key nursery and feeding ground.

Mesozooplankton composition and distribution in İzmir Bay, Aegean Sea: With special emphasis on copepods

Mesozooplankton are a diverse group of heterotrophic organisms and an important component of the food web in transferring energy to higher trophic levels. Studies on mesozooplankton composition and distribution in İzmir Bay, Aegean Sea, are scarce and they included mostly the data from early 2000s. The present study provides updated information on the status of this important component of the bay. Mesozooplankton composition and distribution were studied in June and November 2017, February and April 2018 from eight stations situated along a transit from inner to the outer region in İzmir Bay, Aegean Sea. Samples were collected vertically by using WP2 net with 200μm mesh size. The total mesozooplankton abundance varied from 708 ind. m−3 in June to 42045 ind. m−3 in April. The high abundance of polychaeta larvae, cirriped nauplii, copepods and appendicularians were observed in the inner region, while the abundance of echinoderm larvae, chaetognaths, siphonophores and pteropods were high in the central and outer regions. The contribution of copepod to the total mesozooplankton abundance was the highest (≥ 56 %) in February in all regions. The lowest contributions were in November (32 %) in the inner region and in June in the central (27 %) and the outer (29 %) regions. A total of 38 copepod species were identified during the study period. Acartia clausi successively dominated the copepod community in February and April. Oithona nana was the most abundant oithonid in February and April, while O. davisae in November. O. similis, Paracalanus parvus, Oncaea media group, Temora stylifera and Centropages typicus were abundant in the central and outer regions of the bay. Four new species, Parvocalanus crassirostris, Pseudodiaptomus marinus, Centropages ponticus and Oithona tenuis were detected for the first time in the bay. The reported abundance of C. ponticus, P. crassirostris and P. marinus, together with their spatial and temporal occurrence in the present study, indicate that these species have already settled in İzmir Bay. Results indicate that the mesozooplankton distribution and composition were associated mostly with salinity and depth rather than temperature in group and species level. Substantial changes in the copepod species composition have been observed over decades in İzmir Bay. The number and abundance of smaller and egg-sac carrying non-indigenous species appear to be increasing over time in the bay.

Impact of Hindiya Dam on Copepoda Diversity in Euphrates River, North of Babylon Province, Iraq

The study was the first trial to evaluate the effect of the Hindiya Dam on the Euphrates copepods diversity during January to December 2019. The copepod density average was decreased clearly at downstream the dam compared with dam site. Nauplii showed the highest percentages relative abundance while Macrocyclops albidus albidus was the lowest. Thirty-eight taxa were recorded, including 9, 4, 2, 1 and 22 taxa of Calanoida, Harpacticoida, parasitic cyclops, nauplii, and Cyclopoda, respectively. The average values of species richness index declined from 0.83 at site 1 to 0.62 at dam downstream. Copepods were considered as a distributed richness. Site 4 with 5 had the lowest similarity (49.99%), whereas the highest Jaccard index percentage (92.5%) was between sites 1 and 4. The average values of Shannon-Weiner index ranged from 0.788- 0.96 bit/ind at up and downstream dam, respectively. The dam is considered as moderate to unbalance according to uniformity index. Constant taxa decreased from 6 on upstream to 4 downstream dam. It was concluded that the change in hydrological conditions from current water in site 1 to limnetic basins in site 2, then back to current water at sites 3, 4 and 5 downstream dam had a significant impact on the spatial composition of the copepod community.

Copepod communities of the Algerian coast (southwestern Mediterranean Sea, 2°-7°E) and their interaction with hydro-climatic variability

Abstract The biodiversity of copepods as examined in the present study is based on an oceanographic survey conducted on two ecosystems along the Algerian coast (central and eastern) in the early autumn of 2014. During that investigation, the thermocline was present at shallow depth, extending between 30 and 80 m. A total of 49 species were recorded in the samples, belonging to 20 families, among which six families, Calanidae, Eucalanidae, Metridinidae, Oithonidae, Paracalanidae, and Temoridae, appeared to be dominant. The total abundance of zooplankton at the 13 stations was less than 600 ind/m3. Two geographic groupings have been distinguished: stations in the central sector (group 1) are in opposition to the other stations in the eastern sector (group 2). The quantitative levels of copepods are less abundant in the east (234.15 ind/m3) than in the centre (334.99 ind/m3). In the central regions, the trophic organization is dominated by omnivores (73.02%), with an inferior co-dominance of carnivores (14.02%) and herbivores (12.95%). In the east, copepods with omnivorous behaviour are strongly represented (82.14%), followed by phytophagous (13.85%) and carnivorous (4.01%) species. The distribution of the abundances over the copepod communities was found to be linked to the temperature, salinity, North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, and phytoplankton biomass.

Copepod Diel Vertical Distribution in the Open Southern Adriatic Sea (NE Mediterranean) under Two Different Environmental Conditions

Diel vertical migration of the copepod the community was investigated in the open South Adriatic, in June 2020 and February 2021, under two very different hydrographical conditions. The influence of a winter wind-induced mixing event on copepod vertical migration at the species level was determined for the first time and compared to the situation in June when pronounced thermal stratification was observed. The samples were collected during a 24 h cycle in four depth layers from the surface down to 300 m depth, using a Nansen opening–closing net with 250-µm mesh size. In winter, the bulk of the copepod population remained in the epipelagic zone (0–100 m) over the entire 24 h cycle, with calanoids remaining the dominant group. An increasing trend of copepod standing stocks from midnight to early morning in the surface layer found in June is in agreement with previous records of copepod day–night variations in the Mediterranean Sea. Day–night differences in diversity and the number of taxa of the epipelagic area were more pronounced in June, confirming the higher intensity of diel vertical migration in summer. Although the epipelagic community was composed of numerous weak diel vertical migrant species, for the majority of investigated copepod taxa, migration patterns differed between the environmentally contrasting seasons. A multivariate non-metric analysis showed that the copepod community was strongly affected by temperature, thus exhibiting a clear seasonal structure.