Vertical mesozooplankton abundance and distribution in the deep Eastern Mediterranean Sea SE of Crete
Weikert, H.; Trinkaus, S. (1990). Vertical mesozooplankton abundance and distribution in the deep Eastern Mediterranean Sea SE of Crete. J. Plankton Res. 12(3): 601-628
In: Journal of Plankton Research. Oxford University Press: New York,. ISSN 0142-7873; e-ISSN 1464-3774, more
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| Keywords |
Abundance
Composition > Community composition
Deep sea
Distribution > Geographical distribution > Vertical distribution
Surveys > Biological surveys > Plankton surveys
Water > Deep water
Marine/Coastal |
| Abstract |
Mesozooplankton from the Levantine Basin, Eastern Mediterranean, were analysed for composition and vertical distribution from the surface to 4000 m, with special emphasis on calanoid copepods. Copepods were dominant, ostracods and chaetognaths ranked next. Zooplankton abundance and biomass were highest in the top 100 m layer. A secondary concentration maximum was between 450 and 750 m. The exponential decrease of zooplankton with depth was stronger then in the open ocean, but less strong than in the Red Sea. Similarly to both seas, long-range vertical migrators were rare, those present mainly belonging to the genus Pleuromamma, and diel migrations were restricted to the upper 600 or 1000 m. Due to the high temperatures in the deep water bodies of the Levantine and Red Seas, the decomposition of sedimentary particles is assumed to be accelerated. This prevents much detritus from reaching the sea floor which may explain the anomalous low abundances of deep-sea zooplankton and benthos. |
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