Comunidades zooplanctónicas das águas da costa ocidental da Ilha da Inhaca

Abstract

Sampling took place on a monthly basis and was carried out using horizontal and subsurface trawls, with the help of two types of net, one of 330pm and the other of 125 gm, in a network of straight-line harvesting stations on the West Coast of Ilha da Inhaca, including Portinho, the Estação de Biologia Maritime and Ponta Ponduíni, during the period from August 1994 to January 1995. The surface water temperature followed the atmospheric temperature pattern, showing an average of 25.4’C, while the salinity showed an average of 38.8 p.p.m and the water transparency fa: high. The hydrological parameters of the üha showed very little influence from the rivers that flow into Maputo Bay, being bathed by the same body of water, greatly influenced by the ocean. Zooplankton abundance was similar across the coast. The months of September and November were rated as the most important in terms of abundance of organisms. The west coast of the island does not show any relationship between hydrological factors (temperature and salinity) and the density of organisms. The most abundant zooplanktonic taxonomic groups were Copepoda, Invertebrate Eggs and Zoea de Brachyura, groups that were captured with the 330pm net. With the 125pm net, the most abundant groups were also Gastropod Larvae and Copepods (although smaller than those captured with the previous net).