IMIS - Marine Onderzoeksgroepen

The species composition of the zooplankton community of Shirazi Bay, Kenya was studied in 1998. A total of 30 samples were analyzed. Chlorophyll a, biological oxygen demand and dissolved oxygen concentrations were also determined each time, and were later used to analyse the species data. Maximum values of zooplankton abundance were reported in mid-April (1161 ± 169 indiv.m^-3), and the lowest was at the end of April (300 ± 35 indiv.m^-3). Total abundance of zooplankton varied from 911 ± 165 indiv.m^-3 in station 3 to 262 ± 54 indiv.m^-3 in station 5. The most important taxa encountered included: Calanoida, Brachyura, Oikolpeura, Amphipoda, Mysidaceae, Polychaeta and Chaetognatha. Calanoida was the most dominant taxon sampled and it made up 46% of the total zooplankton abundance.