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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Implications of a regional-scale process (the Lakshadweep low) on the mesozooplankton community structure of the Arabian Sea

K. K. Karati A C , G. Vineetha A B , T. V. Raveendran A , P. K. Dineshkumar A , K. R. Muraleedharan A , T. Joseph A and K. V. Jayalakshmi A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Council of Scientific and Industrial Research–National Institute of Oceanography, Regional Centre, Kochi, Kerala, 682018, India.

B Present address: Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, Kerala, 682018, India.

C Corresponding author. Present address: Centre for Marine Living Resources & Ecology, Kochi, Kerala, 682037, India. Email: kusum.kk1@gmail.com

Marine and Freshwater Research 70(3) 345-358 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF17238
Submitted: 30 January 2017  Accepted: 4 July 2018   Published: 22 October 2018

Abstract

The Arabian Sea, a major tropical ocean basin in the northern Indian Ocean, is one of the most productive regions in the global ocean. Although the classical Arabian Sea ‘paradox’ describes the geographical and seasonal invariability in zooplankton biomass in this region, the effect of the Lakshadweep low (LL), a regional-scale physical process, on the zooplankton community has not yet been evaluated. The LL, characterised by low sea surface height and originating around the vicinity of the Lakshadweep islands during the mid-summer monsoon, is unique to the Arabian Sea. The present study investigated the effect of the LL on the zooplankton community. The LL clearly had a positive effect, with enhanced biomass and abundance in the mixed-layer depth of the LL region. Copepods and chaetognaths formed the dominant taxa, exhibiting strong affinity towards the physical process. Of the 67 copepod species observed, small copepods belonging to the families Paracalanidae, Clausocalanidae, Calanidae, Oncaeidae and Corycaeidae dominated the LL region. Phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll-a) was the primary determinant influencing the higher preponderance of the copepod community in this region.

Additional keywords: ecology, marine, zooplankton.


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