A preliminary zooplankton survey in a Mexican Caribbean Eutrophic Coastal Lagoon

Zooplankton groups, vegetation-associated fauna and copepod species sampled during the dry (May) and wet (October) seasons in 1991 at Bojórquez lagoon (State of Quintana Roo, México) are analyzed. Results are compared with two other stations: one in the northern portion of the same lagoon system (Cuenca Norte) and the other at the adjacent neritic environment. Gastropods, polychaetes, amphipods and tanaidaceans, among other benthic animals, were abundant at Bojórquez, but absent at the other stations. This was related to: 1) the shallowness of Bojórquez, 2) large patches of Thalassia testudinum and 3) large masses of drifting filamentous algae. The copepod, Acartia tonsa, was the most abundant zooplankter in Bojórquez lagoon (90% and 96% during the dry and rainy seasons, respectively). Fish eggs and larvae were low in abundance and number of taxa. Results on the abundance and composition of the associated fauna, the zooplankton and the copepods, suggest that Bojórquez lagoon has peculiar environmental conditions where only tolerant species, such as A. tansa, can thrive successfully. At Bojórquez stations faunal differences from adjacent environments were noted by means of similarity indexes. At the neritic station, a relatively lower copepod abundance and a higher species richness were observed.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Suárez Morales, Eduardo Doctor autor/a 2036, Álvarez Cadena, José Nicolás autor/a 15052, Islas Landeros, María Eugenia autor/a
Format: Texto biblioteca
Language:eng
Subjects:Zooplancton, Flora marina, Fauna marina, Composición de la población, Artfrosur,
Online Access:http://docserver.ingentaconnect.com/deliver/connect/umrsmas/00074977/v58n3/s7.pdf?expires=1511905132&id=0000&titleid=10983&checksum=25699BE4F9C3DB5113D505514594E8F8
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