The Spatio-temporal Distribution of Zooplankton Communities in the Northern Yellow Sea During Autumn and Winter

The joint cruises of six times between Korea and China were carried out for a better understanding of the environmental and oceanographical characteristics of the Yellow Sea for 6 years from 1998 to 2003. Zooplankton samples were collected one time per year at 24 stations on 3 lines of the Yellow Sea. The aim of this study is to understand the seasonal fluctuation of zooplankton community in the Yellow Sea. There is no trend on the spatio-temporal distribution of zooplankton. Copepoda, the major taxon of the Yellow Sea, was high in distribution in the eastern part and Chaetognatha in the western part of the Yellow Sea. In this results, the dominant copepods were Calanus sinicus, Paracalanus parvus s.l., Oithona atlantica, and Corycaeus affinis during the study periods. The density fluctuation of these dominant species may be an important factor in determining the fisheries resource of the Yellow Sea.