A comparison of the contribution of zooplankton and nekton taxa to the near-surface acoustic structure of three Turkish seas

The bioacoustics of upper waters of the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the Mediterranean Sea were studied in October 1999 with an echosounder with 120 and 200 kHz dual‐beam transducers. Net tows were taken to ground‐truth the acoustic volume backscattering. A forward solution was applied to determine significant scatterers of the three seas with regard to detection limits of the frequencies and background noise measured in each sea. The noise was 4 dB higher in the Sea of Marmara than in the other two seas. 200 kHz data showed significant correlation between measured and calculated volume backscattering strength, and density (biomass and abundance) of the taxa. Large‐sized copepods and chaetognaths in the Black Sea, Aurelia, Beroe, chaetognaths and large‐sized and abundant appendicularians in the Sea of Marmara, and fish larvae in the Mediterranean Sea contributed most to the volume backscattering.     

褶皱臂尾轮虫室外培育池浮游生物的初步研究

室外轮虫培育池(简称轮虫池，下同)和养鱼池同是一种人工生态系统。轮虫池具有外来有机质特别丰富、生物生产力极高和食物链短的特点，并不受鱼类下行效应的影响。研究轮虫池的浮游生物，不但有助于提高轮虫池的生产力，而且对探讨水域生态系功能也有一定的理论意义。近年来，利用土池大量培育轮虫正逐步开展(Li Yonghan，1996；李永函等，1993，1997；赵沟等，1993)，但多侧重于培养方法和生产应用，对培育池浮游生物状况的资料甚少。本文作者对辽河三角洲河蟹养殖有限公司的若干培育池的浮游生物种类、数量及其分布进行了测定，以期为土池轮虫的持续高产提供生物学依据。     

Species Diversity and Abundance Distribution of Pelagic Siphonophores in Nan Wan Bay of Taiwan, China, in Late Autumn and Early Winter

Zooplankton surveys were carried out on November 2-3 and December 8-10, 2001 at 12 stations in the Nan Wan Bay of Taiwan, China. Altogether 92 quantitative zooplankton samples were collected from subsurface water and bottom water layers with two conical plankton nets （180 cm in length, 45 cm in opening diameter, 333μm and 200 larn in mesh size）. A total of 31 species of Siphonophores were identified, among them 7 species are new records in the waters around Taiwan Island, of which Rocacea cymbiformis is a new record in China. Dominated by Chelophyes appendiculata, Bassia bassensis, Diphyes bojani, Diphyes dispar, Abylopsis eschscholtzi and Chelophyes contorta, these species accounted for over 76 % and 63 % of the total abundance in November and December. The species number and Siphonophores abundance in December （25 species, 1.99 inds/m3） were more than those in November （19 species, 0.438 inds/m3）, and they were more in the surface water layer than in the bottom layer at most sampling stations. In early winter, the offshore high salinity water mass was a main factor influencing the distribution. The sampling efficiency for two plankton nets is discussed and the seasonal variation of species number and abundance in the Nan Wan Bay is compared with that in the neighboring waters.     

Zooplankton responses to sandbar opening in a tropical eutrophic coastal lagoon

The effects of a disturbance by sandbar opening on the zooplankton community were evaluated through a long-term study in an eutrophic and oligohaline system, Imboassica Lagoon, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Zooplankton samples and limnological data were collected monthly from March 2000 to February 2003. Before the sandbar was opened in February 2001, the lagoon showed eutrophic conditions, with high mean nutrient concentrations and low salinity (total nitrogen – TN = 190.28 μM, chlorophyll a content – Chl. a = 104.60 μg/L and salinity = 0.87′). During this period, the zooplankton species present, such as the rotifers Brachionus calyciflorus and Brachionus havanaensis, were typical of freshwater to oligohaline and eutrophic environments. After the sandbar opening, the lagoon changed to a lower trophic status and increased salinity (TN = 55.11 μM, Chl. a = 27.56 μg/L and salinity = 19.64′). As a result, the zooplankton community came to consist largely of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis, marine copepods and meroplanktonic larvae, mainly Gastropoda. Salinity was the main force structuring the zooplankton community after the sandbar opening. Two years after this episode, the prior zooplankton community had not reestablished itself, indicating a low resilience to this disturbance. The conditions developed prior to a sandbar opening can be crucial to the community responses in the face of this disturbance and for the capacity of the original zooplankton community to re-establish itself.     

湛江湾浮游动物群落结构特征及其周年变化

2010年10月至2011年9月对湛江湾浮游动物进行了周年调查,研究了其群落结构的周年变化及影响因素。结果共检出浮游动物87种和29类浮游幼虫,隶属于16大类群,群落结构主要由桡足类(30种)、浮游幼虫(29类)和原生动物(23种)所组成,分别占总种类数的25.86%、25.00%和19.83%。浮游动物种类数以4月最多,2月和3月最少,4~9月的总种类数均高于其他月份。湛江湾浮游幼虫以底栖动物幼虫为主,在4月种类最多,5月丰度最高,4~7月为湛江湾海洋动物的繁盛时期。浮游动物优势种共有22种(类),其中浮游幼虫9类,原生动物7种,桡足类3种,水母类、毛颚类、被囊类各1种,以12月、4月和5月优势种最多(8种),2月最少(2种),无全年优势种,群落结构明显趋于小型化。各相邻月份的共有种类数在18~33种,物种更替率R的范围为37.25%~73.61%,多样性指数H'、均匀度J及丰富度d的年均值较低,分别为2.64、0.54和3.32。在调查期间,湛江湾浮游动物丰度出现了3个高峰,且分别由不同的浮游动物类群组成,其中12月份的高峰主要由原生动物组成,2月份的高峰主要由桡足类组成,而5月份的高峰则主要由浮游幼虫组成,3大类群共同主导湛江湾浮游动物群落结构;浮游动物生物量仅在2月和9月出现高峰,呈现月份双峰型变化。湛江湾浮游动物的周年变化主要受水温、食物及摄食压力的影响。     

Spatio‐temporal variability of zooplankton biomass and environmental control in the Northern Benguela Upwelling System: field investigations and model simulation

Spatial and temporal distribution patterns of zooplankton are highly variable in the Northern Benguela Upwelling System. We studied the distribution of zooplankton (size class ≥ 0.33 mm) and used field data from four cruises that took place between March 2008 and February 2011, as well as simulation results of a regional ecosystem model. Remotely sensed sea surface temperatures (SST) and surface chlorophyll concentrations were analysed to investigate environmental influences on zooplankton biomass. The Intense Benguela Upwelling Index showed a distinct seasonal signal throughout the years and the highest upwelling peaks in August/September. Even though surface chlorophyll concentrations were very variable throughout the year, the highest concentrations were always detected in September, following the upwelling of nutrient‐rich water. In field catches, zooplankton biomass concentration in the upper 200 m was highest above the outer shelf and shelf‐break in December 2010 and February 2011, i.e. 6 months after the upwelling peaks. In contrast, zooplankton biomass simulated by the model in the surface water was highest in September. In March/April, biomass maxima were typically measured in the field at intermediate water depths, but the vertical distribution was also affected by extensive oxygen minimum zones. The ecosystem model reproduced this vertical pattern. Although general trends were similar, simulation data of zooplankton standing stocks overestimated the field data by a factor of 3. In upwelling systems, food webs are generally considered to be short and dominated by large cells. However, our field data indicate more small‐sized zooplankton organisms above the shelf than offshore.     

Effect of the selective feeding ofGalaxias maculatus (Salmoniformes,Galaxiidae) on zooplankton of a South Andes lake

The effect of larval and juvenile predation ofGalaxias maculatus on a natural small-sized zooplankton was studied in a South Andes lake. Field data of zooplankton density and composition were combined with fish gut content analysis during a spring-summer season. Results showed thatGalaxias early stages ingested mostly planktonic preys. A shift was observed in prey electivity: larvae preferred copepod nauplii whereas juveniles preferred cladocerans. Larval predation provokes the failure of the summer cohort of the calanoid copepodBoeckella gracilipes. The effect of juveniles is more undefined, but seems to prevent the reappearance ofCeriodaphnia in the summer plankton.     

An annual fossil record of production,planktivory and piscivory during whole-lake manipulations

Annual and subannual paleolimnological records of pigments and zooplankton were used to analyze three whole-lake manipulations. The relative abundance of cladoceran remains in recent seasonal laminae was significantly correlated with the relative abundance of species in the plankton (r ²=0.59,P<0.001). Comparison of food-web structure after piscivore introduction showed that there are multiple outcomes of predation and that final food-web structure depended on the strength of interaction between piscivorous and planktivorous fish. Intense predation on cyprinids (Phoxinus eos, P. neogaeus, Umbra limi) by largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) allowed large herbivores (Daphnia pulex) and invertebrate predators (Chaoborus punctipennis) to dominate. Analysis of fossil invertebrate morphology suggested that small grazers (Bosmina longirostris, Diaphanosoma birgei) were eliminated by invertebrate predators. Under moderate predation by rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), cyprinids remained, only intermediate-size herbivores (D. rosea) increased in abundance, andBosmina persisted. In contrast to food-web manipulations, increased algal abundance resulting from watershed disturbance (road construction) did not alter the species composition or size-structure of fossil Cladocera.