Seasonal Distribution of Epipelagic Copepods at the Different Habitats in the North-Western Red Sea, Egypt.

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Abstract

The present study was conducted at the Egyptian North-Western part of the Red Sea through 2 cruises during winter and summer, 2017. Samples were collected at 12 stations represented four different habitats. This study aims to investigate the community structure, diversity and abundance of copepods in different habitats in relation to some environmental parameters. Salinity increased in shallow sheltered lagoon habitats causing especial environment during summer. A total of 67 species belonging to 35 genera and 23 families of four copepod groups in addition to immature stages were identified. Major differences were detected in copepod community structure and species diversity between both seasons and different habitats. The greatest number of species (55) was found in the open deep water habitat, while the lowest (24 species) was recorded in the seagrass one. Among the copepod groups, calanoids were the most abundant and inhabited all habitats, forming an average of 49.2% of the total adult copepods. Likewise, calanoid copepods were the most diverse group represented by 38 species. Regional means of copepod densities were high in the coral reef habitats (856 ind.m-3). In contrast, the abundance of copepods was low in the seagrass habitats (572 ind. m-3). Finally, the noticed variation in the copepod composition among different habitats reflects the impact of the ecosystem components on the structioning of the community composition.

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