Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Zooplankton assemblages as indicators of seasonal changes in water masses in the boundary waters between the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait

  • Zooplankton Ecology
  • Published:
Hydrobiologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Hydrology and trophic relationships are frequently reported for inducing changes in mesozooplankton communities. This study investigated the distribution and abundance of mesozooplankton in the boundary waters between the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. Samples were collected using a NOR-PAC zooplankton net towed horizontally at a depth of 2 m, at eight stations along a transect, in March (spring) and October (autumn) 2005. The abundance of mesozooplankton was significantly higher during autumn than spring. Densities of many groups (e.g., Noctiluca scintillans, pteropods, copepods, mysids, euphausiids, and other larva) increased in October. During both seasons, copepods represented more than 50% of the total zooplankton abundance. Noctiluca scintillans, appendicularians, and Calanus sinicus were dominant in spring, indicating their association with the cold waters of the East China Coastal Current. Appendicularians and N. scintillans were mainly associated with the coastal waters of Taiwan; whereas C. sinicus was concentrated in the offshore waters along the coast of Mainland China. Chaetognaths, Temora turbinata, Acrocalanus spp., and radiolarians were dominant in autumn, showing their association with the warm waters of the Kuroshio Branch Current. Oncaea venusta was relatively abundant during both seasons. Our study shows that, in addition to the influence of seasonal changes in the water masses, the distribution and composition of mesozooplankton are highly influenced by trophic interactions between zooplankton taxa, in the boundary waters of the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Box, G. E. P. & D. R. Cox, 1964. An analysis of transformations (with discussion). Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B 26: 211–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Champalbert, G., M. Pagano, P. Sene & D. Corbin, 2007. Relationships between meso- and macro-zooplankton communities and hydrology in the Senegal River Estuary. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 74: 381–394.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, C.-Y. & C. L. Folt, 2002. Ecophysiological responses to warming events by two sympatric zooplankton species. Journal of Plankton Research 24: 579–589.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Q.-C. & S.-Z. Zhang, 1965. The planktonic copepods of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, I. Calanoida. Studia Marina Sinica/Haiyang Kexue Jikan 7: 20–131 (in Chinese with English summary).

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Q.-C., S.-Z. Zhang & C.-S. Zhu, 1974. On planktonic copepods of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea II. Cyclopoida and Harpacticoida. Studia Marina Sinica/Haiyang Kexue Jikan 9: 27–76 (in Chinese with English summary).

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, C.-T. A., R. Ruo, S.-C. Pai, C.-T. Liu & G. T. F. Wong, 1995. Exchange of water masses between the East China Sea and the Kuroshio off northeastern Taiwan. Continental Shelf Research 15: 19–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, C.-T. A., C.-M. Lin, B.-T. Huang & L.-F. Chang, 1996. The stoichiometry of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen in the particular matter of the western North Pacific marginal seas. Marine Chemistry 54: 179–190.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chu, T.-Y., 1971. Environmental study of the surrounding waters of Taiwan. Acta Oceanographica Taiwanica 1: 15–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daan, R., 1987. Impact of egg predation by Noctiluca miliaris on the summer development of copepod populations in the southern North Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 37: 9–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dela-Cruz, J., J. H. Middleton & I. M. Suthers, 2008. The influence of upwelling, coastal currents and water temperature on the distribution of the red tide dinoflagellate, Noctiluca scintillans, along the east coast of Australia. Hydrobiologia 598: 59–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dolganova, N. T. & Y. I. Zuenko, 2004. Seasonal and inter-annual dynamics of mesoplankton in the northwestern Japan Sea. Progress in Oceanography 61: 227–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dufrêne, M. & P. Legendre, 1997. Species assemblages and indicator species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecological Monography 67: 345–366.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dur, G., J.-S. Hwang, S. Souissi, L.-C. Tseng, C.-H. Wu, S.-H. Hsiao & Q.-C. Chen, 2007. An overview of the influence of hydrodynamics on the spatial and temporal patterns of calanoid copepod communities around Taiwan. Journal of Plankton Research 29: 97–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eskinazi-Sant’Anna, E. M. & T. K. S. Björnberg, 2006. Seasonal dynamics of mesozooplankton in Brazilian coastal waters. Hydrobiologia 563: 253–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fulmer, J. H. & S. M. Bollens, 2005. Responses of the chaetognath, Sagitta elegans, and larval Pacific hake, Merluccius productus, to spring diatom and copepod blooms in a temperate fjord (Dabob Bay, Washington). Progress in Oceanography 67: 442–461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gong, G.-C., K.-K. Liu & S.-C. Pai, 1995. Prediction of nitrate concentration from two end member mixing in the southern East China Sea. Continental Shelf Research 15: 827–842.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, G. C., 1991. Chaetognatha from the central and southern Middle Atlantic Bight - species composition, temperature-salinity relationships, and interspecific associations. Fisheries Bulletin U. S. 89: 33–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsieh, C.-H. & T.-S. Chiu, 2002. Summer spatial distribution of copepods and fish larvae in relation to hydrography in the northern Taiwan Strait. Zoological Studies 41: 85–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsieh, C.-H., T.-S. Chiu & C.-T. Shih, 2004. Copepod diversity and composition as indicators of intrusion of the Kuroshio Branch Current into the northern Taiwan Strait in spring 2000. Zoological Studies 43: 393–403.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu, J.-Y., H.-S. Hong, Z.-Z. Chen, Z.-G. He, J.-S. Hong & H.-X. Liang, 1999. Analysis on features of temperature and salinity in the northern Taiwan Straits during February–March, 1998. Marine Science Bulletin 18: 11–16 (in Chinese with English abstract).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Humes, A. G., 1994. How many copepods? Hydrobiologia 292(293): 1–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huys, R. & G. Boxshall, 1991. Copepod Evolution. The Ray Society, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, J.-S. & C. K. Wong, 2005. The China coastal current as a driving force for transporting Calanus sinicus (Copepoda: Calanoida) from its population centers to waters of Taiwan and Hong Kong during the NE monsoon period in winter. Journal of Plankton Research 27: 205–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, J.-S., C.-T. Chen, K.-K. Lee & C.-L. Pan, 2004a. Ecological survey on nuclear power plants in Taiwan. Journal of Marine Science and Technology 12: 355–464.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, J.-S., J.-S. Ho & C.-T. Shih, 2004b. Contemporary studies of Copepoda. Zoological Studies 43: 165–512.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, J.-S., Y.-Y. Tu, L.-C. Tseng, L.-S. Fang, S. Souissi, T.-H. Fang, W.-T. Lo, W.-H. Twan, S.-H. Hsiao, C.-H. Wu, S.-H. Peng, T.-P. Wei & Q.-C. Chen, 2004c. Taxonomic composition and seasonal distribution of copepod assemblages from waters adjacent to nuclear power plant I and II in northern Taiwan. Journal of Marine Science and Technology 12: 380–391.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, J.-S., S. Souissi, L.-C. Tseng, L. Seuront, F. G. Schmitt, L.-S. Fang, S.-H. Peng, C.-H. Wu, S.-H. Hsiao, W.-H. Twan, T.-P. Wei, R. Kumar, T.-H. Fang, Q.-C. Chen & C.-K. Wong, 2006. A 5-year study of the influence of the northeast and southwest monsoons on copepod assemblages in the boundary coastal waters between the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. Journal of Plankton Research 28: 943–958.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, J.-S., H.-U. Dahms, L.-C. Tseng & Q.-C. Chen, 2007. Intrusions of the Kuroshio Current in the northern South China Sea affect copepod assemblages of the Luzon Strait. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 352: 12–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jan, S., J. Wang, C.-S. Chern & S.-Y. Chao, 2002. Seasonal variation of the circulation in the Taiwan Strait. Journal of Marine Systems 35: 249–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kâ, S. & J.-S. Hwang, 2011. Mesozooplankton distribution and composition on the northeastern coast of Taiwan during autumn: effects of the Kuroshio Current and hydrothermal vents. Zoological Studies 50: 155–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lan, Y.-C., C.-T. Shih, M.-A. Lee & H.-Z. Shieh, 2004. Spring distribution of copepods in relation to water masses in the Northern Taiwan Strait. Zoological Studies 43: 332–343.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lan, Y.-C., M.-A. Lee, C.-H. Liao & K.-T. Lee, 2009. Copepod community structure of the winter frontal zone induced by the Kuroshio Branch Current and the China Coastal Current in the Taiwan Strait. Journal of Marine Science and Technology 17: 1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, H.-J., S.-Y. Chao & K.-K. Liu, 2004. Effects of reduced Yangtze River discharge on the circulation of surrounding seas. Terrestrial Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences 15: 111–132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, C.-Y., D.-C. Liu & W.-C. Su, 2009. Seasonal and spatial variations in the planktonic copepod community of Ilan Bay and adjacent Kuroshio waters off Northeastern Taiwan. Zoological Studies 48: 151–161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, G., X. Han, S. Yue, G. Wen, Y. Rongmin & T. M. Kusky, 2006. Monthly variations of water masses in the East China Seas. Continental Shelf Research 26: 1954–1970.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang, W. D., T. Y. Tang, Y. J. Yang, M. T. Ko & W. S. Chuang, 2003. Upper ocean current around Taiwan. Deep-Sea Research II 50: 1082–1105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, K.-K., G.-C. Gong, S. Lin, C.-Y. Wang, C.-L. Wei, S.-C. Pai & C.-K. Wu, 1992. The year-round upwelling at the shelf break near the northern tip of Taiwan as evidenced by chemical hydrography. Terrestrial Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences 3: 243–275.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, K.-K., T.-H. Peng, P.-T. Shaw & F.-K. Shiah, 2003. Circulation and biogeochemical processes in the East China Sea and the vicinity of Taiwan: an overview and a brief synthesis. Deep-Sea Research II 50: 1055–1064.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lo, W.-T., J.-S. Hwang & Q.-C. Chen, 2001. Identity and abundance of surface-dwelling, coastal copepods of southwestern Taiwan. Crustaceana 74: 1139–1157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lo, W.-T., J.-S. Hwang & Q.-C. Chen, 2004. Spatial distribution of copepods in surface waters of the southeastern Taiwan Strait. Zoological Studies 43: 218–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • López-Urrutia, A., R. P. Harris & T. Smith, 2004. Predation by calanoid copepods on the appendicularian Oikopleura dioica. Limnology and Oceanography 49: 303–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitsuo, C. & M. Masaaki (eds.), 1997. An Illustrated Guide to Marine Plankton in Japan. Tokai University Press, Kanagawa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naganuma, T., 1996. Calanoid copepods: linking lower–higher trophic levels by linking lower–higher Reynolds numbers. Marine Ecology Progress Series 136: 311–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quevedo, M., R. Gonzalez-Quiros & R. Anadon, 1999. Evidence of heavy predation by Noctiluca scintillans on Acartia clausi (Copepoda) eggs off the central Cantabrian coast (NW Spain). Oceanologica Acta 22: 127–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rakhesh, M., A. V. Raman & D. Sudarsan, 2006. Discriminating zooplankton assemblages in neritic and oceanic waters: a case for the northeast coast of India, Bay of Bengal. Marine Environmental Research 61: 93–109.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reese, D. C., T. W. Miller & R. D. Brodeur, 2005. Community structure of near-surface zooplankton in the northern California Current in relation to oceanographic conditions. Deep-Sea Research II 52: 29–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, K. & E. G. Shaner, 1968. Observations on the distribution and breeding of Sagitta elegans (Chaetognatha) in coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine. Limnology and Oceanography 13: 618–625.

  • Shih, C.-t. & T. S. Chiu, 1998. Copepod diversity in the water masses of the southern East China Sea north of Taiwan. Journal of Marine Systems 15: 533–542.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stibor, H., O. Vadstein, B. Lippert, W. Roederer & Y. Olsen, 2004. Calanoid copepods and nutrient enrichment determine population dynamics of the appendicularian Oikopleura dioica: a mesocosm experiment. Marine Ecology Progress Series 270: 209–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tan, Y., L. Huang, Q. Chen & X. Huang, 2004. Seasonal variation in zooplankton composition and grazing impact on phytoplankton standing stock in the Pearl River Estuary, China. Continental Shelf Research 24: 1949–1968.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tse, P., S. Y. Hui & C. K. Wong, 2007. Species composition and seasonal abundance of Chaetognatha in the subtropical coastal waters of Hong Kong. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 73: 290–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tseng, R. S. & Y. T. Shen, 2003. Lagrangian observations of surface flow patterns in the vicinity of Taiwan. Deep-Sea Research II 50: 1107–1115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tseng, L.-C., S. Souissi, H.-U. Dahms, Q.-C. Chen & J.-S. Hwang, 2008. Copepod communities related to water masses in the southwest East China Sea. Helgoland Marine Research 62: 153–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uye, S., 1988. Temperature-dependent development and growth of Calanus sinicus (Copepoda: Calanoida) in the laboratory. Hydrobiologia 167(168): 285–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uye, S., T. Shimazu, M. Yamamuro, Y. Ishitobi & H. Kamiya, 2000. Geographical and seasonal variations in mesozooplankton abundance and biomass in relation to environmental parameters in Lake Shinji-Ohashi River-Lake Nakaumi brackish-water system, Japan. Journal of Marine Systems 26: 193–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J. & C.-S. Chern, 1988. On the Kuroshio’s branching with Taiwan Strait during winter time. Progress in Oceanography 21: 469–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, G. T. F., S. C. Pai, K. K. Liu, C. T. Liu & C. T. A. Chen, 1991. Variability of the chemical hydrography at the frontal region between the East China Sea and the Kuroshio north-east of Taiwan. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 33: 105–120.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, G. T. F., S. Y. Chao, Y. H. Li & F. K. Shiah, 2000. The Kuroshio edge exchange processes (KEEP) interactions between the East China Sea and the Kuroshio. Continental Shelf Research 20: 331–635.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, G.-T., S. Sun & B. Yang, 2007. Summer reproduction of the planktonic copepod Calanus sinicus in the Yellow Sea: influences of high surface temperature and cold bottom water. Journal of Plankton Research 29: 179–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, C., S. J. Li & G. S. Lian, 1992. Marine Copepod Biology. Amoy University Press, Fujian (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Zuo, T., R. Wang, Y.-Q. Chen, S.-W. Gao & K. Wang, 2006. Autumn net copepod abundance and assemblages in relation to water masses on the continental shelf of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. Journal of Marine Systems 59: 159–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the National Science Council of Taiwan for financial support to J. S. Hwang (grant no. NSC 99-2611-M-019-009) and to T.-H. Fang (grant no. NSC 95-2611-M-019-004). Samba Kâ is grateful to the National Science Council of Taiwan for the offer of a post-doctoral fellowship. We would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments and suggestions on the first version of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Marine Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, 202, Taiwan

    Shih-Hui Hsiao, Samba Kâ & Jiang-Shiou Hwang

  2. Department of Marine Environmental Informatics, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, 202, Taiwan

    Shih-Hui Hsiao & Tien-Hsi Fang

  3. Department of Science Education, National Taipei University of Education, Taipei, 106, Taiwan

    Shih-Hui Hsiao

Authors
  1. Shih-Hui Hsiao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Samba Kâ
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tien-Hsi Fang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jiang-Shiou Hwang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiang-Shiou Hwang.

Additional information

Guest editors: J.-S. Hwang and K. Martens / Zooplankton Behavior and Ecology

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hsiao, SH., Kâ, S., Fang, TH. et al. Zooplankton assemblages as indicators of seasonal changes in water masses in the boundary waters between the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. Hydrobiologia 666, 317–330 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-011-0628-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-011-0628-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation