Abstract
A survey has been made of medusae found in plankton samples taken fortnightly over a period of a year at 2 fixed stations in the waters near Cochin, Kerala, India. Twenty two species were identified, 8 of them were recorded for the first time in this region. The 2 stations were found to be controlled by different hydrographical regimes; that at Aroor is entirely characterised by backwater conditions, with salinity afternating from fresh water to 32‰ S according to the monsoon cycle; the station at Fairway Buoy is also dominated by the monsoon cycle, with mixed, low-salinity (11 to 13‰) waters at the surface, and upwelled Arabian Sea water in the bottom layer during the Southwest monsoon Life cycles are discussed and the population dynamics of Eutima commensalis at Aroor are analysed. A mathematical model is proposed for more detailed population dynamics studies of plankton species in the Cochin Backwaters, taking E. commensalis as an example.
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Communicated by N. K. Panikkar, Panaji
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Vannucci, M., Santhakumari, V. & dos Santos, E.P. The ecology of hydromedusae from the Cochin area. Marine Biology 7, 49–58 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00346808
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00346808