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Vol. 49 No. 6, 2010
Copepods Assemblages in an Embayment of Taiwan during Monsoonal Transitions
Wen-Been Chang1,2, Hans-Uwe Dahms3, and Li-Chun Tseng4,*
1Institute
of Marine Biodiversity and Evolution, National Dong Hwa University, 1
Da-Hsueh Rd., Sec. 2, Shou-Feng, Hualien 974, Taiwan
2National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, 2 Houwan Road, Checheng, Pingtung 944, Taiwan
3Environmental Laboratory, Green Life Science Department, Sangmyung University, Hongji-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-743, Korea
4Institute of Marine Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University, 2 Peining Road, Keelung 202, Taiwan
Wen-Been Chang, Hans-Uwe Dahms, and Li-Chun Tseng (2010)
In coastal waters around the island of Taiwan, oceanic currents are
mainly influenced by the prevailing East Asian monsoonal winds: the
northeasterly (NE) monsoon during winter and the southwesterly (SW)
monsoon during summer. We identified 101 copepod species
(including 27 species solely identified to generic level) belonging to
44 genera and 31 families in Nan-Wan Bay, southern Taiwan. Corycaeus (Onychocorycaeus) catus (15.00%), Oncaea venusta (11.97%), and Clausocalanus furcatus (5.93%) were predominant in Apr., and together they comprised 32.9% of the total number of copepods. Paracalanus parvus (10.08%), Par. aculeatus (9.12%), and Cor. (O.) catus
(8.01%) were predominant in Sept. and together contributed to 27.3% of
the total copepod abundance. The average copepod abundance was
significantly higher in Sept. samples than in Apr. samples.
Copepod community parameters showed apparent variations and succession
between the 2 sampling months, implying that different species may
dominate in different regions with different seasonal distribution
patterns. Our results indicate that the copepod assemblages
changed with water conditions at the northeastern margin of the South
China Sea where water masses of the Kuroshio Current and those of the
South China Sea mix.
Key words: Copepod composition, Monsoon, Taiwan, Kuroshio Branch Current, South China Sea.
*Correspondence: E-mail:lichun@mail.bestredeye.org; hansdahms@smu.ac.kr
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