Mesozooplankton and copepod community structures in the southern East China Sea: the status during the monsoonal transition period in September

Abstract

A field sampling was conducted before the onset of the northeasterly monsoon to investigate the copepod community composition during the monsoon transition period at the northern coast of Taiwan (East China Sea). In total, 22 major mesozooplankton taxa were found, with the Calanoida (relative abundance: 66.36%) and Chaetognatha (9.44%) being the most abundant. Mesozooplankton densities ranged between 226.91 and 2162.84 individuals m−3 (mean ± SD: 744.01 ± 631.5 individuals m−3). A total of 49 copepod species were identified, belonging to 4 orders, 19 families, and 30 genera. The most abundant species were: Temora turbinata (23.50%), Undinula vulgaris (17.92%), and Acrocalanus gibber (14.73%). The chaetognath Flaccisagitta enflata occurred at all 8 sampling stations, providing a 95% portion of the overall chaetognath contribution. Amphipoda were abundant at stations 4 and 5, with Hyperioides sibaginis and Lestigonus bengalensis being dominant, and comprising about 50% of all amphipods. Chaetognath abundance showed a significantly negative correlation with salinity (r = 0.77, p = 0.027), whereas mesozooplankton group numbers had a significantly positive correlation with salinity (r = 0.71, p = 0.048). Densities of four copepod species (Calanus sinicus, Calocalanus pavo, Calanopia elliptica and Labidocera acuta) showed a significantly negative correlation with seawater temperature. Communities of mesozooplankton and copepods of northern Taiwan varied spatially with the distance to land. The results of this study provide evidence for the presence of C. sinicus in the coastal area of northern Taiwan during the early northeast monsoon transition period in September.