Composition and Seasonality of Zooplankton of North Inlet, South Carolina

Abstract

The zooplankton of the North Inlet estuary near Georgetown, South Carolina, was collected bi-weekly from January 1974 to August 1975 (20 months) at four stations. Zooplankton numbers ranged from 377 to 84,414 m⁻³ ( $\bar X$ =9257 m⁻³) and biomass from 640 to 140,169 μg dry weight m⁻³ ( $\bar X$ =16,178 μg dry weight m⁻³). The major peak in the density of zooplankton occurred between April and July both years. Copepods (including larval stages) were the dominant taxon comprising 64–69% of total zooplankton numbers and biomass. The most common species wereParvocalanus crassirostris (Dahl),Acartia tonsa Dana,Oithona colcarva Bowman, andEuterpina acutifrons (Dana). Cirripedia nauplii were the most common meroplankton comprising 13% of the total zooplankton for the entire sampling period. Other important groups were bivalve and polychaete larvae and the larvaceanOikopleura sp. Comparisons of the major species of copepods and their reproductive periodicities with those reported in the literature suggest that the North Inlet fauna is most closely allied to that of Florida waters.