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Spatial and temporal variability of small-sized copepod assemblages in a shallow semi-enclosed embayment (Kalloni Gulf, NE Mediterranean Sea)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 October 2014

Georgia Papantoniou ,
Daniel B. Danielidis ,
Alexandra Spyropoulou  and
Nina Fragopoulu
Georgia Papantoniou*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Systematics, Faculty of Biology, University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis, Athens 15784, Greece
Daniel B. Danielidis
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Systematics, Faculty of Biology, University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis, Athens 15784, Greece
Alexandra Spyropoulou
Affiliation:
Department of Marine Sciences, University of the Aegean, University Hill, 81100 Mytilene, Greece
Nina Fragopoulu
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Patras, Panepistimioupolis, Rio 26500, Greece
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: G. Papantoniou, Department of Ecology and Systematics, Faculty of Biology, University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis, Athens 15784, Greece email: georpapant@biol.uoa.gr
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Abstract

The small-sized copepod community structure (<1  mm) and its response to environmental variability was examined during an annual cycle in Kalloni Gulf, a semi-enclosed coastal system in the NE Aegean Sea. Α 90 µm net was used in order to adequately sample the smaller copepod fractions. In the copepod ecology the spatial patterns dominated over the seasonal. Total copepod abundance increased towards the inner gulf area while diversity indices followed the opposite trend. The inner gulf copepod assemblage area was affected by the increasing magnitude of eutrophication, characterized by high abundance values, low species richness and dominance of a single species (e.g. Oithona nana). A clear seasonal succession of species was observed, ordered by temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a, heterotrophic bacterial biomass, organic and inorganic nutrients. Freshwater inputs and the subsequent nutrient inflow was a dominant phenomenon enhancing copepod production and negatively affecting the biodiversity of the assemblage. The great contribution of copepod larval stages in the total community and their year-round presence indicate the continuous production of copepods during the annual cycle, highlight the importance of the smaller size fraction and encourage the use of finer mesh-size nets when assessing the structure and dynamics of copepod communities.

Keywords

small-sized copepodsOithona nanaenvironmental variabilityeutrophicationcoastal embayment
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 95 , Issue 2 , March 2015 , pp. 349 - 360
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2014 

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