Studies on the Ecology of Zooplankton Standing Crop of Sharm El-Maiya Bay, Sharm El-Sheikh, Northern Red Sea, Egypt

Monthly samples were collected at several sites from Sharm El-Maiya Bay for studying the physicochemical parameters (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, total suspended solids (TSS), nutrient salts, and chlorophyll-a), and zooplankton standing crop during 2000-2001. Nutrient salts were in the normal levels with means of 1.21, 0.52, and 3.61 μg-at/l for nitrate, phosphate, and silicate, respectively, inside the bay. TSS and Chlorophyll a was higher inside than outside the bay. The annual magnitude of the standing crop of zooplankton in the bay (average: 6710 ind./m3) was higher than outside the bay (at the reference site) being 4567 ind. /m3. The highest zooplankton crop was recorded in October (average: 9825 ind./m3) and the lowest occurred in May (average: 2708 ind./m3). The high abundance inside the bay may be correlated with the high phytoplankton standing crop (i.e. chlorophyll-a biomass) of the bay. A total of 62 zooplankton species, in addition to larval stages, were identified inside and outside the bay. The species numbers ranged from 15 to 42 inside the bay and from 20 to 45 at the reference area. Copepoda was the most abundant group, constituting on the average 65% of the zooplankton community of the bay and was dominated by Acartia spp. This species was abundant inside the bay but was almost absent outside the bay at the reference site with its high density in June (2191ind./m3).