Mesozooplankton in a stressed area of the Nile Delta Coast, Egypt.

Document Type : Original Article

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Abstract

The mesozooplankton was studied biweekly for one year in a part of the Nile Delta coast laying under the stress of different human activities. The study recorded 59 species amounted totally to an average of 59.7 x103 orgm/m3. Copepods were the highest diverse group (25 species), constituting 86.4% of the total mesozooplankton count. The other holoplankton groups were poorly represented and collectively formed 5% in addition to 8.6% for meroplankton. The community structure and numerical abundance experienced pronounced spatial and temporal variations relative to the surrounding environmental conditions. The Shannon index and dominance index were low over the whole area, while the evenness index appeared high. Salinity seems to be the essential factor that controls the distribution of the different groups, but other environmental parameters were also encountered. The nauplii larvae of copepods were the major mesozooplankton component, while a few species displayed clear abundance and were responsible for the abundance of the adult forms.

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