TY - JOUR AU - Seregin, S. A. AU - Popova, E. V. PY - 2016/09/29 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Species composition and abundance of metazoan microzooplankton in the north-eastern waters of the Black Sea in summer 2013 JF - Marine Biological Journal JA - mbj VL - 1 IS - 3 SE - Scientific communications DO - 10.21072/mbj.2016.01.3.06 UR - https://marine-biology.ru/mbj/article/view/31 SP - 35-41 AB - <p>Metazoan microzooplankton plays a crucial role in the feeding of larvae and juveniles of many fish species, including commercial. The aim of the work was to study the metazoan microzooplankton abundance and species composition in the waters of North-East of the Black Sea, for which such information is rare. Bathometric water samples for the research were taken in 2 water areas in the Kerch sea area: on the shelf (I) and in continental slope waters (II). The concentration of plankton in the surface layer above large depths was almost 2 times higher and the proportion of neritic species was much lower compared to the waters over the shelf. The character of the microzooplankton abundance vertical distribution depended on the temperature and salinity gradients expression. Compared with the coastal waters of the southern coast of Crimea general decline of the abundance with depth is much more pronounced over the continental slope. Copepods of the genus <em>Acartia</em> and <em>Centropages ponticus</em> were dominating in the upper layers of the water; a recent invader in the Black Sea <em>Oithona davisae</em> played a significant role in the shelf waters, also. Abundant copepod species in the waters under thermocline were<em> Oithona similis</em>, <em>Acartia clausi</em>, <em>Paracalanus parvus</em>; Rotifera dominated in non-crustacean plankton. Newly obtained and previously published data indicate an increasing trend of total micrometazoans abundance in the Crimean Black Sea waters in recent years.</p> ER -