Diurnal and spatial variation of the mesozooplankton community in the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, Equatorial Atlantic

Melo, Pedro Augusto Mendes de Castro; Díaz, Xiomara Franchesca Garcia; Macêdo, Sílvio José de; Neumann‐Leitão, Sigrid

doi:10.1017/s1755267212001054

Cited by 14 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…Previous studies on zooplankton from tropical islands in Brazilian oceanic waters are relatively recent (Cavalcanti and Larrazabal, 2004;Lira et al, 2014), but some have also demonstrated the effect of seasonality on the ecological attributes of the mesozooplankton community (Diaz et al, 2009;Melo et al, 2012). The hypothesis of difference between dry and rainy seasons was verified in the present study, where the mean abundance of mesozooplankton and copepods were significantly higher in the rainy season.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Despite their important in marine food web, few papers have been published about zooplankton in tropical coastal marine waters of Northeastern Brazil (NeumannLeitão et al, 1999;Neumann-Leitão et al, 1999; and to insular milieus (Mafalda Jr. et al, 2007;Diaz et al, 2009;Larrazabal et al, 2009;Melo et al, 2012). Insular environments in tropical oceans are hotspots for pelagic fauna, amidst the most nutrient-poor waters of the Atlantic Ocean, where occurs intensive fisheries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Small-scale distribution of the mesozooplankton in a tropical insular system

et al. 2018

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In the present work, spatial and seasonal fluctuations of the abundance and diversity of mesozooplankton are presented, with special attention being given to copepod assemblages from coastal area of the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago (FNA) (3°50'24''S and 32°24'48''W). Sampling was carried out during the dry and rainy seasons of two consecutive years (July and December 2013) and (June and November 2014). A total of 37 mesozooplankton taxa were recorded, being the copepods the most diversified group (15 taxa). The Subclass Copepoda dominated in both periods sampled, comprising 53% and 86% of the total abundance in the dry and rainy season respectively. The species considered abundant were: Calanopia americana, Undinula vulgaris, Oithona plumifera and Corycaeus speciosus. The rainy season favored a significant increase in the abundance of mesozooplankton and copepods. However, a low value of the Shannon-Wiener diversity index was observed in this same seasonal period. This was explained by the dominance of the species C. americana and U. vulgaris in the studied area. Spatial differences have not been verified. The copepod assemblages was composed mostly by species considered as predator-carnivours of greater importance on the pelagic trophic web, indicators of oligotrophic conditions and components of a major portion of fish food items. Thus, we suggest that a spatially homogeneous mesozooplankton community characterizes the coastal area of Fernando de Noronha Archipelago with variations related mainly to the seasonal factor.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small-scale distribution of the mesozooplankton in a tropical insular system

et al. 2018

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“…The interaction between the topography and the system of currents (SEC and EUC) near SPSPA produces vortices, disturbances of the thermohaline structure and possible mechanisms of local upwelling (Melo et al, 2012). In the present study, the northwest and southwest winds reaching the west side of the islands and the South Equatorial Current flowing eastward seems to be responsible for the nearshore retention of fish larvae due to the creation of surface eddies around the archipelago.…”

Section: Discussion Seasonal Influence Of Oceanographic Variables On mentioning

confidence: 49%

Seasonal-Dial Shifts of Ichthyoplankton Assemblages and Plastic Debris around an Equatorial Atlantic Archipelago

Lima

Barletta

Costa

2016

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Seasonality was a stronger influence in the ichthyoplankton assemblages around the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago (SPSPA) than distance from the islands. Plastic debris were ubiquitous and although it presented diel trends, no other spatiotemporal patterns was showed. Larval Oxyporhamphus micropterus was the most important taxa (29.37% of the total catch), followed by Ceratoscopelus warmingii and Entomacrodus vomerianus. Exocoetidae eggs represented 41.01%. Mesopelagic fish larvae dominated the community. Myctophidae had the highest species richness (15). Four larval fish assemblages occurred: (1) night-time demersal/bathydemersal (Anguillidae, Congridae); (2) daytime mesopelagic/bathypelagic/epipelagic (Myctophidae, Cyclothone acclinidens); (3) daytime epipelagic (Exocoetidae, Coryphaena hippurus, Thunnus albacares); and (4) night-time reef and demersal (Blennidae, Pomacentridae, Lutjanidae). The dry season (lower temperature, higher chlorophyll a and higher SW wind velocity) influenced the first two assemblages. The rainy season (higher temperatures and lower NW wind velocity) influenced the last two. Nighttime abundance of dominant species in the rainy season suggests diel vertical migration nearshore. Plastics were 2.12 times more abundant than the most abundant fish larvae. Comparable amounts of larvae and plastics in the water column increase the chances of interaction between these two compartments and might disturb the local marine food web and promote the transfer of microplastic from one habitat to another, especially when smaller taxa contaminated by ingested fragments are preyed by migratory animals such as marine birds and tuna. A study around the area concluded that at least a part of the plastic debris can have local source due to fishing activities. Small-scale oceanographic mechanisms such as the interaction between the topography and currents (SEC and EUC) seem to be responsible for the retention of fish eggs, fish larvae and plastics around SPSPA.

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“…The vast majority of the taxa found in the neuston in this study have been previously recorded for the plankton of surrounding oceanic area, as off the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago (DIAZ et al, 2009;MELO et al, 2012) and Rocas Atoll (PINTO et al, 1997), which are oceanic island environments of the Tropical Atlantic, relatively close to the study area. However, plankton communities off these islands were sampled with other mesh sizes and at other depth strata than in the present study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…Much of the work on neuston compared these communities with those of other depths and the nycthemeral and seasonal variation, but not the differences between the two neuston layers COREY, 1988;1989;HASSETT;BOEHLERT, 1999;RAWLINSON et al, 2005). One detailed study on the small-scale vertical structure of the zooneuston was conducted by Olivar et al (1998), who described vertical distributions in the epi-and hyponeuston layers for some selected fish and macrocrustacean taxa in the north-western Mediterranean. They showed specific vertical patterns for several fish species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and nycthemeral distribution of the zooneuston off Fernando de Noronha, Brazil

et al. 2014

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A B S T R A C TIsland environments drastically modify the hydrodynamics of ocean currents and generate strong vertical turbulence. This leads to an upward transport of nutrient-rich waters, thus increasing the biomass of plankton in these oceanic marine environments. The objective of this study was to assess the biomass and density of the zooneuston communities in relation to the upper and lower layers (epi-/hyponeuston), the nycthemeral variation (day/night), the currents in relation to the island (downstream vs upstream), and the distance from the island, focusing on the spatial variability. Samples were taken in July and August 2010 with a David-Hempel neuston net (Hydro-Bios) with a mesh size of 500 μm. Twenty-one taxa were recorded. The most abundant taxa were Copepoda, Chaetognatha, Teleostei (eggs) and Hydrozoa. This is the first record of phoronid larvae for the waters of the Tropical Atlantic. For both layers, density and biomass were significantly higher at night. Density and biomass were always significantly higher in the upper (epineuston) layer than in the lower (hyponeuston) layer. This was probably due to a zooneuston aggregation at the surface and massive vertical migration from deep waters at night, leading to increased abundances at night in both neuston layers. R E S U M OAmbientes insulares são responsáveis pela modificação da hidrodinâmica das correntes oceânicas e por gerar turbulência vertical. Esta faz com que águas da camada inferior ricas em nutrientes sejam elevadas à região superior da coluna de água, aumentando a biomassa do plâncton local. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a biomassa e a densidade e das comunidades do zoonêuston em relação às camadas superior e inferior da coluna de água (epi/hiponêuston), à variação nictemeral (dia/noite), corrente superficial predominante (jusante/montante) e à distância da ilha, com foco na variabilidade espacial do plâncton. Amostragens foram realizadas de julho a agosto de 2010 com uma rede de nêuston David-Hempel (Hydro-Bios) com malha de 500 μm. Vinte e um táxons foram registrados, sendo os mais abundantes Copepoda, Chaetognatha, Teleostei (ovos) e Hydrozoa. Apresenta-se também o primeiro registro de larvas de Phoronida para o Atlântico Tropical. Para ambas as camadas, a densidade e a biomassa foram significativamente mais elevadas durante a noite e também significativamente maiores no epinêuston. Este fato provavelmente ocorreu devido à agregação do zoonêuston na superfície do oceano e à forte migração vertical a partir de camadas profundas durante a noite, levando a um aumento das abundâncias dos organismos nesse período, em ambas as camadas neustônicas.

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Diurnal and spatial variation of the mesozooplankton community in the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, Equatorial Atlantic

Cited by 14 publications

References 49 publications

Small-scale distribution of the mesozooplankton in a tropical insular system

Small-scale distribution of the mesozooplankton in a tropical insular system

Seasonal-Dial Shifts of Ichthyoplankton Assemblages and Plastic Debris around an Equatorial Atlantic Archipelago

Spatial and nycthemeral distribution of the zooneuston off Fernando de Noronha, Brazil

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