Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2014, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (4): 40-46.doi: 10.11978/j.issn.1009-5470.2014.04.005cstr: 32234.14.j.issn.1009-5470.2014.04.005

Special Issue: 海上丝绸之路专题

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Community structure of chaetognaths in the tropical northeastern Indian Ocean

LI Kai-zhi, KE Zhi-xin, LI Gang, YIN Jian-qiang, HUANG Liang-min   

  1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
  • Received:2013-10-08 Revised:2014-03-04 Online:2014-08-11 Published:2014-08-11

Abstract:

Chaetognaths, a unique group of marine zooplankton, play an important role in the trophic web of the pelagic realm. This study examined the species composition, abundance distribution and community structure of chaetognaths based on the data obtained from the tropical northeastern Indian Ocean in April-May, 2011. A total of 14 species of chaetognath were identified, characterized by the ecological groups with widespread tropical species. The dominant species were mainly represented by Sagitta enflata, Sagitta pacifica, Pterosagitta draco, and Sagitta ferox. The study area could be divided into three transects: eastern, equatorial and western transects based on the locations of sampling stations and marine environment. The range of species richness was from five to 14, with the high diversity at the equatorial and western transects, and below 10 at the eastern transect. An average of chaetognath abundance was 5.35(±2.82) ind·m-3, with an uneven distribution characterized by high values at the western transect and low values at the equatorial and eastern transects. Results of species cluster analysis showed that the species of chaetognaths in the study area could be divided into three groups at the similarity level of 50%, with one group including 11 species and the other two groups only including three species each. The similarity percentage of community structure at the western transect was higher than at the other transects. The high diversity and abundance of chaetognaths at the western transect could be due to the influence of both coastal waters and upwelled waters.

Key words: Zooplankton, chaetognaths, species, abundance, Indian Ocean

CLC Number: 

  • Q959.27