Nina Fragopoulu

Vertical distribution and nocturnal migration of zooplankton in relation to the development of the seasonal thermocline in Patraikos Gulf

Vertical distribution and nocturnal migration of zooplankton species in relation to the development of the seasonal thermocline in the shallow waters (90 m) of Patraikos Gulf (Ionian Sea, Greece) were investigated using a WP-2 closing net. Juvenile and adult copepods accounted for a mean of 91% of the total collected in three sampling periods, i.e. May, July and September 1985.Ctenocalananus vanus, Paracalanus parvus andOithona plumifera were the dominant copepods. The majority of the zooplankton tend to aggregate at the thermocline layer. Among copepods the two congeneric speciesClausocalanus pergens andC. furcatus exhibited different migratory responses to the development of the thermocline.C. pergens occurred in the lower part of the thermocline andC. furcatus in the upper region or above. The diel vertical migration of all species could be divided into four types: (1) no vertical migration; (2) upward migration at night; (3) occasional migration; and (4) reverse migration (down at night). In July when the strongest thermocline developed, most zooplankters rose close to the surface at night. For most species, temperature discontinuity did not limit their diel migration.

Vertical distribution and nocturnal migration of Nyctiphanes couchi (Crustacea: Euphausiacea) in relation to the summer thermocline in the Celtic Sea

Vertical distributions and nocturnal migrations of the developmental stages of Nyctiphanes couchi (Bell) in relation to the summer thermocline in the Celtic Sea, 25 to 26 August 1982, have been investigated using the Longhurst-Hardy Plankton Recorder (LHPR). The vertical distributions of the metanauplii and adult females suggest that N. couchi liberates its young within the euphotic zone as mature metanauplii which, in a matter of hours, moult into the first feeding stage (Calyptopis I). The ascent migration by adult females took a maximum of 3 h (17.10 to 20.05 hrs) and had an amplitude of ∼50m (54 to 4 m) from below to above the thermocline. A ∼7C° thermocline occurred between 20 to 30 m in these profiles. The nocturnal migrations by the females were for the purpose of breeding as well as feeding within the euphotic zone and were not influenced by the presence of the thermocline. The majority of the calyptopes and furciliae remained above the thermocline over the sampling period. The post-larval males and females migrated; their vertical distributions showed a pattern similar to those of the adult females. The larger the developmental stage, the deeper was the mode of its vertical distribution. The zooplankton dry weight in the profiles ranged from 3.74 to 6.91 g per haul (=1.85 to 3.45 g C m-2, 0 to 100 m). The euphausiids represented ∼35% of total zooplankton dry weight and their migrations removed a large percentage of the total zooplankton biomass from the euphotic zone for ∼18 h d-1. Such a large displacement of biomass would have a major impact on the biological interactions within the ecosystem.

Vertical community structure and ontogenetic distribution of chaetognaths in upper pelagic waters of the Eastern Mediterranean

The vertical distribution of chaetognaths and their developmental stages were investigated in the pelagic waters (0 to 500 m) of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Twenty vertical hauls were taken during autumn 1991 in the Ionian, Cretan, Levantine and Rhodes Seas. The chaetognaths Sagitta bipunctata and S. enflata had the same median depth distributions, which differed from those of S. minima, S. serratodentata, S. lyra, Krohnitta subtilis, and S. decipiens, while S. hexaptera occurred only sporadically. S. bipunctata and S. enflata were mainly restricted to <50 m, and while their distributions co-occurred their stage composition differed. The remaining species took up progressively deeper positions in the water column. Ontogenetic vertical distributions, with the older stages occurring at greater depth, were only observed for the mesopelagic species S. lyra and S. decipiens. Diurnal vertical migration was not detected in any of the species nor in their developmental stages.

Summer mesozooplankton distribution in coastal waters of central Greece (eastern Mediterranean). I. Hydrology and group composition

Zooplankton and hydrography of the upper 200 m was studied in coastal and pelagic waters off central Greece eastern Mediterranean) during July 1998. The spatial distribution of the main environmental (temperature, salinity, fluorescence) and zooplankton (abundance, dry-weight, dominant groups) features of the area was delimited over an intense grid of 124 stations. The complex topography of the surveyed area comprised an interesting field for the study of pelagic coastal interaction and its influence on the taxonomic composition of zooplankton. A typical summer thermal stratification was observed over the entire study area. Marked differences were found in surface-salinity between the eastern (Aegean Sea) and the western (Ionian Sea) part of the study area, which was attributed to the presence of less saline waters originating from the Black Sea. A deep fluorescence maximum was present in both coastal and pelagic stations. Zooplankton abundance and biomass showed an inshore-offshore gradient with coastal areas being significantly richer than pelagic areas. The taxonomic composition of zooplankton varied greatly both along the inshore-offshore gradient and among the different semi-enclosed Gulfs. Copepods were the dominant group in the pelagic waters comprising 67 78% in terms of mean relative abundance. In coastal areas, copepods were less important with cladocerans (especially the species Penilia avirostris) being the dominant group (44-51%). Appendicularians and chaetognaths comprised an important component of the zooplankton community over the entire surveyed area with mean relative abundance ranging from 2.5 to 14% and 0.6 to 5.8%, respectively.

Summer mesozooplankton distribution in coastal waters of central Greece (eastern Mediterranean). II. Species assemblages

Mesozooplankton distribution was investigated over an intensive grid of 124 stations in coastal and pelagic waters of central Greece (eastern Mediterranean) during July 1998. The complex topography of the area consisted of various semi-enclosed gulfs as well as open-sea areas and provided excellent fieldwork for determining species assemblages, their relationships to environmental parameters and the distribution and abundance patterns of the copepod species. Three coastal and one pelagic group of stations were revealed by cluster analysis. Inverse analysis of species affinities defined distinct ‘coastal’ and ‘pelagic’ species assemblages. All coastal areas were dominated by a small number of species (e.g. Penilia avirostris , Podon spp., Ctenocalanus vanus , Paracalanus parvus and Centropages typicus ) all belonging to the ‘coastal’ assemblage. Differences among these coastal areas were mainly due to small changes in relative abundance of a common-species list. On the contrary, pelagic stations were characterized by higher species diversity, low dominance and the presence of characteristic epipelagic and mesopelagic species of the Mediterranean Sea (e.g. Calocalanus spp., Haloptilus longicornis , Lucicutia flavicornis , Mecynocera clausi , Farranula rostrata , Mesocalanus tenuicornis and Oncaea mediterranea ). The observed differences in taxonomic composition and abundance of zooplankton were related to the marked differences in salinity values observed between the eastern and western part of the surveyed area. Bathymetry, temperature and fluorescence were also related with the inshore–offshore gradient of the zooplankton community observed in the pelagic areas as well as with the discrimination of the zooplankton communities of the various semi-enclosed gulfs of the region.

Summer mesozooplankton assemblages in the north-eastern Aegean Sea: the influence of Black Sea water and an associated anticyclonic eddy

The north-eastern Aegean Sea (NEA) is a marine system of high hydrological complexity, principally induced by the inflow and subsequent advection of the low salinity ( Layer 1) comparative to the remaining sites (Layer 1> Layer 2), which was mainly due to unusually high concentrations of surface-living zooplankters below the halocline. The latter could be explained in terms of expected water flow patterns in an anticyclonic eddy.

A single maturity classification key for five common Mediterranean chaetognath species

A single maturity classification key applied to five common chaetognath species of the eastern Mediterranean is presented. The efficiency of the key was tested using biometrical data: body length (BL), ovary length (OL) and seminal vesicle width (SVW). For each species the key proved easy to use and efficient in the distinction of the maturity stages providing a satisfactory size separation between them.