Contribution à l'écologie de quelques taxons du zooplancton de Côte d'Ivoire. 2 - Dolioles, Salpes, Appendiculaires

The seasonal variations of vertical distribution and abundance over the shelf are investigated for Doliolids, Salps and Larvacea. The 3 groups present many similar ecological features. Two maxima of abundance occur during the little and main cool seasons. The second maximum is usually the most important, except for Salps. The 3 taxons inhabit more superficial layers in cool than in warm seasons. This allows them to follow the phytoplankton maximum which drifts near the thermocline during the warm season. Pelagic Tunicates come back to the phytoplankton enrichment areas by the deeper Ivorian under-current. A relationship between the vertical distribution pattern and the life cycle (sexual or asexual generation) is suggested.

Gelatinous zooplankton fauna (Cnidaria, Ctenophora and Thaliacea) from Baia da Babitonga (southern Brazil)

The present study reports on a survey of the gelatinous zooplankton fauna (Cnidaria, Ctenophora and Thaliacea) from the proposed Baia da Babitonga marine protected area (southern Brazil; similar to 26 degrees S), based on collections from multiple sites over different seasons and from published literature. In order to sample both small and large gelatinous animals, plankton hauls (n = 255) and fishing trawls (n = 126) were employed. More than 20,000 organisms were studied, which, including literature data, totaled 48 species: one cubomedusa, three scyphomedusae, four siphonophores, 36 hydromedusae, two ctenophores, and two thaliaceans. Among these, the hydromedusae Cnidostoma fallax Vanhoffen and Helgicirrha sp. are recorded for the first time from the southwestern Atlantic coast and Paulinum sp. and Protiara sp. are recorded for the first time from the South Atlantic. A description of young stages of the hydromedusa Gossea brachymera Bigelow is presented and shows that Octobulbacea montehermosensis Zamponi is a junior synonym of the former. Although comprehensive local assessment of diverse taxonomic groups is still lacking, the high diversity observed herein underscores the importance of Ba a da Babitonga as a high priority site for conservation of regional marine biodiversity.

Zooplankton abundance for two shelf stations off Galicia (NW Spain) from 1994 to 2006

Zooplankton was sampled by project RADIALES at Vigo (E3VI) and A Coruña (E2CO) between 1994 and 2006. Samples were collected using 50-cm diameter Juday-Bogorov (A Coruña) or 40-cm diameter bongo plankton nets (Vigo) equipped with 200-µm mesh size. Tows were double oblique from surface to near bottom (90 and 70 m in Vigo and A Coruña, respectively). All samples were collected between 10:00 and 14:00 o'clock (local time). Samples were preserved in 2-4% sodium borate-buffered formaldehyde. For the purpose of this study, the original coastal time series were categorized in copepods representative of crustacean zooplankton) and gelatinous plankton (medusae and tunicates). Medusae included Hydrozoans and Scyphozoa, and tunicates included salps, pyrosomes, doliolids, and appendicularia. Plankton identification and counts were performed by Ana Miranda and M. Teresa Álvarez-Ossorio for samples from Vigo and A Coruña, respectively. Different trends were found for gelatinous plankton in the two coastal sites, characterized by increases in either medusae or tunicates. Multiyear periods of relative dominance of gelatinous vs. copepod plankton were evident. In general, copepod periods were observed in positive phases of the main modes of regional climatic variability. Conversely, gelatinous periods occurred during negative climatic phases. However, the low correlations between gelatinous plankton and either climatic, oceanographic, or fishery variables suggest that local factors play a major role in their proliferations.