Tidal induced variation in the distribution, abundance and diversity of mesozooplankton along the Karachi coast, Pakistan
Temporal variations in biomass, abundance, diversity and speciescomposition of mesozooplankton in relation to the tidal state were studied.Mesozooplankton sampling was carried out twice at the ebb and flood tides at fixedstations closed to Phitti creek (P) and Manora channel (M) near the Karachi coast duringFebruary 1999. The average percent abundance of mesozooplankton was high at ebb tidei.e., 66% and 63% whereas, low on flood tide i.e.,34% and 37%, at both stationsrespectively. However, there were no differences in species composition with tidalfluctuations at both sites. The mesozooplankton community was typically composed of22 groups, out of which copepod was the most abundant group (comprising % of the totalzooplankton) at both sites. During the flood tide high diversity 0.11 ± 0.021 was observedin Phitti creek, but no difference was observed at Manora channel. The species richnesswas high (2.30 ± 0.01273 and 2.38 ± 0.502) in the Manora channel at both ebb and floodtides, respectively, whereas the dominance values were high at Phitti creek. Completerandomized design ANOVA showed that there was no significant difference inabundance of mesozooplankton between stations and tides nested in stations, but thedifference was significant for the diversity and equitability. On the short temporal scalethe tidal cycle additionally determines changes in the zooplankton composition.
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | article biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2011
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| Subjects: | Biology, Zooplankton, Distribution, Abundance, flood and ebb tide., |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1834/40766 |
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