Vol. 51 No. 8, 2012

Siphonophores from a Transect off Southern Taiwan between the Kuroshio Current and South China Sea

Wen-Tseng Lo1, Pin-Ren Kang1, and Hung-Yen Hsieh2,3,*

¹Institute of Marine Biotechnology and Resources, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan
²Institute of Marine Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien 974, Taiwan
³National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung 944, Taiwan

Wen-Tseng Lo, Pin-Ren Kang, and Hung-Yen Hsieh (2012) Seasonal variations in the siphonophore community were related to the hydrography along a transect in the South China Sea (SCS) and Kuroshio Current off southern Taiwan from Jan. 2005 to Oct. 2006.  In total, 55 siphonophore taxa were identified during the study period, comprising 44 calycophores and 11 physonects.  The diphyids Chelophyes contorta and C. appendiculata and the abylids Bassia bassensis, Abylopsis eschscholtzi, and A. tetragona were the 5 most abundant species.  Siphonophore abundances showed significant temporal and spatial differences, with higher abundances usually in summer at the western end of the transect line.  Although species compositions of the predominant siphonophores were similar among seasons, the number of siphonophore species was higher during the warm season.  Our results indicated that variations in seawater temperature had a minor effect on the distribution pattern of siphonophores in waters off southern Taiwan; however, seasonality in zooplankton biomass may be an important factor controlling seasonal cycles of siphonophore abundances.

Key words: Siphonophore, Community composition, South China Sea, Kuroshio.

*Correspondence: Tel: 886-8-8825001 ext. 8026.  Fax: 886-8-8825086.  E-mail:hyhsieh@mail.ndhu.edu.tw