USING LASER OPTICAL PLANKTON COUNTER TO EXAMINE SIZE AND ABUNDANCE OF ZOOPLANKTON IN SUMMER AT 35°N

A laser optical plankton counter(LOPC) with a moving vessel profiler is a device in high integration and automation for obtaining data with high spatial resolution, with which we examined the horizontal and vertical zooplankton average size and abundance along 35 °N section in the cold water mass of the southern Yellow Sea during July 2012 summer cruises. Results show that the number and abundance of zooplankton increased from the east to west under the influences of temperature, phytoplankton distribution, frontal upwelling and other factors, of which temperature was believed the most important factor on zooplankton vertical distribution in summer in the Yellow Sea. Therefore, LOPC can be applied as a tool for zooplankton investigation in marine ecology.