Distribution of microzooplankton in the Philippine Sea and the Celebes Sea in summer, 1972

Regional and vertical distribution of the microzooplankton in the Philippine and the Celebes Seas is reported in relation to the phytoplankton distribution. The maximum concentration of chlorophylla occurred at the surface in the Celebes Sea and in subsurface layer (50–150 m depth) in the Philippine Sea. On the other hand, the maximum occurrence of the microzooplankton was observed in the subsurface layer (50–150 m) throughout these sea areas; discrepancy in the vertical positions of the chlorophylla and microzooplankton maxima was observed in the former sea area. The higher dominancy of large-sized phytoplankton such as diatoms andTrichodesmium at the surface maximum, probably because most large-sized phytoplankton were uningestible for the microzooplankton, was the main reason why the discrepancy existed in the Celebes Sea. In the Philippine Sea, where the subsurface chlorophylla maximum layer was formed mainly by small-sized phytoplankton such as coccolithophorids and small dinoflagellates, such a discrepancy was not observed. These may indicate the establishment of a close food relationship between the microzooplankton and the small-sized phytoplankton rather than to the large-sized phytoplankton.