A reef-associated zooplankton community was monitored at weekly intervals for 53 weeks. Samples were collected from quadrats of dense coral cover using emergence net traps. The numerical and biomass fluctuations of 15 taxonomic groups, 7 size classes and 5 feeding groups of the community were determined both temporally and spatially. The community was composed of abundant and diverse taxa (81) with cyclopoid copepods being the most important taxon. Larger-sized fauna (e.g. amphipods, decapods, mysids, etc.) were the second most important abundance and biomass contributors. Size class analysis illustrated a bimodal size distribution spectrum. The well developed second mode of the spectrum was attributed to substratum characteristics which permitted an enhanced macrofaunal/detritivore presence. Although week to week fluctuations of the abundance/biomass data were marked, diversity indices indicated a persistent and resilient community. The nocturnal vertical migrations of the fauna did not show a persistent pattern with the varying phases of 12 sequentially monitored lunar cycles. Substratum heterogeneity was primarily responsible for the spatial distribution pattern of the fauna. Although the data variance suggested stochasticity, time-series procedures determined that cross-correlations between the numerical abundances of taxa, size classes and feeding groups occurred without a lead or lag. Similar analyses identified chlorophyll a as the important environmental variable and also as a leading indicator of particular taxonomic, size and feeding group abundances. It was concluded that reef-associated zooplankton communities are abundant, diverse assemblages structured by periodicities which in combination act to form important links between tropical, inshore benthic and pelagic ecosystems.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.75762 |
| Date | January 1988 |
| Creators | Boers, Jacobus Johannes |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Institute of Oceanography.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 000660140, proquestno: AAINL46134, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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