Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures
Event Name/Location
ASLO/TOS Ocean Research Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 15-20, 2004.
Presentation Date
2-2004
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Description
Blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate K. brevis are common in the Gulf of Mexico, yet no in situ studies of the interactions between zooplankton and K. brevis in the Gulf of Mexico have been conducted. Zooplankton numerical abundance, biomass and taxonomic composition of nonbloom and K. brevis bloom stations within the ECOHAB study area were compared. At nonbloom stations, the most important determinant species were Parvolcalanus crassirostris, Oithona colcarva and Paracalanus quasimodo at the 5-m isobath and P. quasimodo, O. colcarva and Oikopleura dioka at the 25-m isobath. There was considerable overlap between the 5 and 25-m isobaths, with 9 species contributing to the top 90% of numerical abundance at both isobaths. Within K. brevis blooms Acartia tonsa, Centropages velificatus, Temora turbinata, Evadne tergestina, O. colcarva, O. dioika, and P. crassirostris were consistently dominant. Variations between non-bloom and bloom assemblages were evident, including variations in numerical abundance and biomass and the reduction in numerical abundance of 3 key species. Calculated grazing pressure proved insufficient to terminate K. brevis blooms, despite occasional grazing hot spots.
NSUWorks Citation
Lester, Kristen M.; Vargo, Gabriel A.; Walsh, John J.; Heil, Cynthia A.; Neely, Mary B.; Spence, Danylle N.; Murasko, Susan; Sutton, Tracey; Burghart, Scott E.; Remsen, Andrew; Hopkins, T. L.; and Bohrer, Richard N., "Interactions Between Zooplankton and Karenia brevis in the Gulf of Mexico." (2004). Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures. 245.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_facpresentations/245
COinS