Characteristics of zooplankton community in the Liaohe Estuary in autumn and its environment impact factors

Zooplankton ecological survey was carried out in the Liaohe Estuary in October 2012. Aims were to examine the species composition, abundance and biomass, dominant species, community structure of zooplankton in this area. The correlations between abundance, biomass and environmental factors were analyzed. A total of 17 taxa of the zooplankton were identified(excluding planktonic larvae). The dominant species included Paracalanus parvus, Oikopleura longicauda,Oikopleura dioica, Clalnus sinicus. The average abundance of the zooplankton was 3.06 ×104ind./m3and the biomass was147.6 mg/m3. Zooplankton could be divided into the wide temperature euryhaline community and the wide temperature lowsalt community. The dilute water and nutrients carried by Liaohe River were main factors affecting the zooplankton community distribution. The impact of Liaohe River was limited near the estuary of the river in the dry season.