The Community Structure of Zooplankton in the Enteromorpha prolifera Outbreak Area of the South Yellow Sea During Spring in 2009

Based on the survey of former green tides outbreak area of the South Yellow Sea in March,2009(spring),this survey was carried out to examine the species composition,abundance,biomass and biodiversity of the zooplankton community.54 taxa were identified totally,including 20 pelagic larvae.Copepod was the most dominant component of the crustacean.The species number of pelagic copepod and medusa represented 41.2% and 14.7% of total species richness,respectively.The average abundance of zooplankton was 428.6ind/m3.Comparing with that of the same period(spring) in 2001 in this area,the present average abundance was lower.Six dominant zooplankton taxa were recorded in this survey: Calanus sinicus,Paracalanus parvus,Oithona plumifera,Sagitta crassa,Ophiopluteus larvae,Echinopluteus larvae.Based on the species composition and the abundance of the zooplankton,the 14 stations can be divided into three groups: Shandong neritic community,Subei neritic community and the South Yellow Sea central community.