Long–term investigations of copepods (zooplankton) in the coastal waters of the eastern middle Adriatic

Abstract

       Copepods, the dominant group of net zooplankton organisms, were studied in the areas exposed to the pollution of agricultural, domestic and industrial effluents in the 1976-1988 period.

       Relatively small depth all studied stations and the strong impact of human activities have caused some changes of the environment reflected upon composition, density and seasonal oscillations of copepod biomass. All these changes can be clearly related to progressive eutrophication of the eastern Adriatic coastal waters and increasing phytoplankton density.