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Vol. 45 No. 3, 2006
Summer Distribution and Diversity of Copepods in Upwelling Waters of the Southeastern East China Sea
Cheng-Hsin Liao1, Wan-Ju Chang2, Ming-An Lee1, and Kuo-Tien Lee1,*
1Department of Environmental Biology and Fisheries Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung , Taiwan 202
2Fisheries Agency, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, Taipei, Taiwan 100
Cheng-Hsin Liao, Wan-Ju Chang, Ming-An Lee, and Kuo-Tien Lee (2006) We
investigated the species composition and distribution of copepods in
the East China Sea northeast of Taiwan during the summer of 1998. In
total, 95 species of copepods belonging to 43 genera and 21 families
were identified. Cluster analysis divided the sampling stations into 3
groups: A, B (comprised of subgroups B1 and B2),
and C. Group A had the highest mean abundance but the lowest
Shannon-Weaver species diversity and evenness index. Subgroups B1 and
B2 had the lowest mean abundances but the highest values of species
diversity and evenness index. Group C showed intermediate values for
these factors. Satellite images of sea surface temperatures and in situ
conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) data showed that group A
stations were located in waters influenced by the Taiwan Strait Warm
Current; those of subgroups B1 and B2
were distributed in waters near the continental slope in a cold-core
eddy/upwelling area affected by the Kuroshio Current; and group C
stations were in the northern part of the study area and were linked to
continental mixed waters. Typical tropical copepod species, such as Canthocalanus pauper, Undinula vulgaris, Acrocalanus gibber, Paracalanus aculeatus, and Temora turbinata
were highly abundant in waters linked to both the Kuroshio and Taiwan
Strait Warm Currents. Copepods with low abundance, such as Clausocalanus minor and Oithona plumifera
were consistently found in the cold-core eddy/upwelling area. These
results suggest that the distribution, abundance, and species
composition of copepods are associated with different water masses in
the upwelling waters off northeastern Taiwan.
Key words: Copepod, Diversity, Upwelling, Water mass, Kuroshio Current.
*Correspondence: Tel: 886-2-24622192. Fax: 886-2-24635941. E-mail: tienlee@mail.ntou.edu.tw
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