Annual cycle of mesozooplankton at the coastal waters of Cyprus (Eastern Levantine basin)

Abstract

This study is the first to explore monthly and seasonal succession of the zooplankton community in coastal waters of Cyprus using a 12-month period time series. A total of 192 taxa of mesozooplankton (MZ), 145 of which were copepods, were identified at three sites at the southern and one site at the northern coasts of the island. Zooplankton distribution and community structure were influenced mostly by stratification, temperature and Chl-a. The combination of upwelling and advection from the Rhodes Gyre during summer, causing cooler waters in the southern coast of Cyprus, seems to control the food supply and offered favorable feeding conditions to zooplankton, enhancing their numbers. The proximity to a fish farm also positively affected MZ abundance and biomass. This study also revealed the importance of smaller species (e.g. Clausocalanus paululus) and juvenile stages (e.g. Clausocalanus, Oithona and Corycaeus spp.) in composition, structure and functionality of the copepod community. These species seems to be more important in low Chl-a environments, where the relative size of primary consumers is expected to be smaller and the microbial components dominant. This baseline study paves the way for further investigation of the elements of marine food webs in the ultra-oligotrophic environment of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Data-Driven Models for Evaluating Coastal Eutrophication: A Case Study for Cyprus

“…This finding agrees with the fact that the coastal Chl-a levels near Cyprus reach their maximum values during the winter to early spring months, where cooler temperatures prevail, following the winter mixing and increase in phytoplankton production [58]. This was also recorded by Fyttis et al [59] during a monitoring study of 12 consecutive months (January-December 2016), where the maximum coastal Chl-a levels for Cyprus were recorded during the winter. Regarding the salinity parameter, the Chl-a levels are significantly decreased when the salinity is decreased and vice versa.…”

Predicting Coastal Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen Levels by Applying Data-Driven Modelling: The Case Study of Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean Sea)

“…The DIN's concentration increase is associated with a reduction to the WT. This finding might be attributed to the winter upwelling phenomenon observed in coastal water in Cyprus [28]. During the winter upwelling (WT has lower values), nutrient rich waters emerge to the surface and the algal production is increased.…”

Understanding the Interactions between Small-Scale Fisheries and the Mediterranean Monk Seal Using Fishermen’s Ecological Knowledge

“…Opportunistic feeding behaviour has been previously reported in numerous studies for marine mammals and sharks, e.g., [ 65 , 66 ]. In an ultra-oligotrophic environment like Cyprus where biological productivity is very low compared to the central and western Mediterranean ([ 67 ], and references therein), such foraging decisions are likely to happen especially for generalist predators like the Mediterranean monk seal [ 62 ].…”