Vol. 43 No. 2, 2004

Distribution of Necrophagous Copepods in the Cape d, Aguilar Marine Reserve, Hong Kong

Christine N.W. Lee

The Swire Institute of Marine Science, University of Hong Kong, Cape d, Aguilar, Shek O, Hong Kong

Christine N.W. Lee (2004) Unbaited traps and traps baited with crushed crabmeat were deployed 60 mm off the seabed of Lobster Bay, the Cape d, Aguilar Marine Reserve, for 3 d in the winter 1999. Each trap had a 5-mm-diameter opening. A common visitor to the bait was a species of Tisbe (Copepoda: Harpacticoida). Baited traps usually contained more Tisbe than unbaited ones. A spatial distribution of Tisbe was also identified within the study area, i.e., a greater catch was recorded from deeper waters outside the bay. A significant positive correlation between the number of Tisbe trapped and sediment organic content was identified. Simultaneously, Tisbe catches corresponded negatively to the median grain size of the substratum, implying that the distribution of scavenging Tisbe is inversely related to sediment physiography in Lobster Bay.

Key words: Baited traps, Scavengers, Tisbidae.

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