ZOOPLANKTON COMMUNITY STRUCTURE IN THE OFFSHORE NERITIC AREA OF ALEXANDRIA WATERS, EGYPT

ZOOPLANKTON COMMUNITY STRUCTURE IN THE OFFSHORE

NERITIC AREA OF ALEXANDRIA WATERS, EGYPT

By
M. M. HUSSEIN*
*National Institute ofOceanographv and Fisheries, Alexandria, Egypt.
Key Words: Hydrobiology, Zooplankton, Egypt, Mer”i. ~rranean.
ABSTRACT
Zooplankton samples were collected bimonthly from five stations
at the offshore area of Alexandria during April to October, 1996.
Zooplankton population was relatively 10\1′ in number (5695 org/m3).
Autumn was the most productive season. The zooplankton community
consisted of 134 taxa. The dominant zooplankton groups were
Copepods, Pteropods, Protozoa and Larvacea. Fresh water species
(such as Rotifer and Nematode species) were observed at the offshore
area. Also few pollutant-tolerant species were identified at the
offshore stations. Shannon’s Diversity 1ndex showed little variations
from station to station andfrom season to season indicating that the
species diversity did not change much in time or space.