Seasonal variation of neritic mesozooplankton in Mali Ston Bay (southern Adriatic)

Abstract

     The investigation of seasonal variations in the Mali Ston Bay mesozooplankton was based on 29 day and night sampling performed at stations Usko and Bistrina 1983-1984. Higher specimen numbers were mainly found in the night catches, especially at the shallow station Bistrina. All the year round the copepods exhibiting well pronounced differences between day and night catches were markedly dominant especially Acartia clausi. Since pronounced differences between day and night densities of mesozoo­plankton in surface layers were observed, it is possibile to suggest that in the shallow coastal waters the night samples should be taken as representative for the total net zooplankton. For better understanding of the mechanism of the microdistribution of zooplankton population, a special attention has been paid to the current pattern in the area.