Seasonal variations in abundance, biomass and grazing rates of microzooplankton in a tropical monsoonal estuary

Abstract

pico and nano fraction (<20 µm) for most of the year. Phytoplankton growth rates (day −1 ) ranged between 0.69 and 1.24. Microzooplankton grazing was estimated to consume 30-82 % of the phytoplankton standing stock, and 58-97 % of the daily primary production. Results of the present study highlight the role of the microzooplankton as an important consumer of phytoplankton production.

Nutrient, phytoplankton, and zooplankton variability in the Indian Ocean

“…Microzooplankton dominate Arabian Sea grazing processes, consuming an average of 71% of primary production for all coastal to offshore measurements during JGOFS (Reckermann and Veldhuis, 1997;Landry et al, 1998;Caron and Dennett, 1999;Edwards et al, 1999;Marra and Barber, 2005;as summarized in Landry, 2009). High microzooplankton grazing (58-97% of production) was also estimated for a eutrophic estuary during the SWM (Gauns et al, 2015). In a JGOFS synthesis of food web fluxes (Landry, 2009), carbon consumption by microzooplankton was 8 times higher than their grazing on heterotrophic bacteria (the "microbial loop", Azam et al, 1983).…”

A study on microzooplankton community from the coastal waters of eastern Arabian Sea: emphasis on the dominance of heterotrophic dinoflagellates

“…In this study, Shannon-Weiner diversity indices were performed to understand the MZP diversity by using Primer 6-I statistical package. The number of species (S) ranged from 5 to 21, and the maximum number of species (21) was recorded during the late SWM at offshore stations (G5 & G6). The species diversity (H′) ranged from 2.1-4.1, and the maximum diversity (3.5-4.1) was recorded during the late SWM and FIM in all the stations.…”