Zooplankton in Arabian Sea, India

Abstract

The abundance of zooplankton in marine environment has direct influence on fishery resources and itis influenced by environmental parameters such as circulatory movements (eddies) and vertical turbulent mixing. The important role of plankton including both microzooplankton and macrozooplankton in supporting life in the sea was recognized in the past, but the study related to ecology of these organisms has still recently formed as intractable aspect in marine ecosystem. Life in the sea has been broadly classified into three groups, viz., the plankton, the nekton and the benthos. The majority of the faunal assemblages of the plankton consist of zooplankton. Among the various levels of production in the sea the secondary production, i.e., production of zooplankton, attains significance as it serves as a link between primary production and tertiary production. The zooplankton chiefly consumesthe primary producers and form the major food source for tertiary producers. Zooplankton playsan important role in coral reef ecosystem. They serve as food for corals, and variety of other invertebrates and reef fishes. From the fishery point of view zooplankton form food of important batfishes belonging to the families Clupeidae, Caesionidae and Apogonidae. Some fishes are exclusively zooplankton feeders and therefore their abundance is directly linked to the presence of zooplankton.