Seasonal changes in the biomass of zooplankton and their food requirement in Funka Bay

Zooplankton biomass consisting of large and small-size copepods, copepod nauplii and tintinnids were investigated over a period of one year at two stations in Funka Bay, Japan. The food requirement of zooplankton was also estimated using the method of Ikeda and Motoda. Estimated total carbon requirement of zooplankton in the coastal and central parts of the bay was equivalent to 52 and 38% of the annual primary production, respectively. These corresponded to zooplankton production of 12–13 gC·m^–2·yr^–1.The total carbon requirement at each station increased to 63 and 74% of the primary production during summer compared with 26 and 3% in spring or 19 and 17% in winter. The microzooplankton (copepod nauplii and tintinnids) accounted for about half of the carbon requirement from April to November.Food requirements reached 161% at the coastal station and 194% at the central station of the daily organic carbon production during September. Zooplankton may also feed on carbon sources other than living phytoplankton. This could account for the observed decrease in particulate organic carbon in a water column.Contribution No. 202 from the Research Institute of North Pacific Fisheries, Faculty of Fisheries, Hokkaido University.