Zooplankton Community Composition in the Northwestern Part of the Persian Gulf during PG-GOOS Oceanographic Cruise

Journal of the Persian Gulf (Marine Science)/Vol. 5/No. 18/December 2014/10/17-26 Zooplankton Community Composition in the Northwestern Part of the Persian Gulf during PG-GOOS Oceanographic Cruise Abedi, Ehsan * ; Arebi, Eiman; Sepahv, Vahid; Rezai, Hamid; Jalili, Mahshid Iranian National Institute for Oceanography Atmospheric Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran Received: April 2014 Accepted: September 2014 2014 Journal of the Persian Gulf. All rights reserved. Abstract The zooplankton community environmental conditions were monitored during Dec. 2012 PG-GOOS (Persian Gulf Gulf of Oman Oceanographic Study) oceanographic cruise on board N/V Ja Nayb throughout the northwestern part of the Persian Gulf. Data of temperature, salinity, depth ph as well as zooplankton community composition abundance were collected from 17 stations. The zooplankton community was numerically dominated by copepods, with various meroplankton holoplankton in lower abundances. Mean zooplankton abundance was recorded at 285 (±1.7) ind. m -3 The highest copepod abundance was 274 ind.m -3 at station located at the Mond Protected Area (MPA). Cluster analysis revealed three distinct groups of co-occurring zooplankton taxa distributed in relation to water temperature, but not salinity. Keywords: Zooplankton; Abundance; Community Composition; Environmental condition; Persian Gulf; Cluster analysis 1. Introduction Zooplanktons perform many vital functions within marine ecosystems including the transfer of energy nutrients from producers to secondary consumers, the decomposition of nutrients, the removal of phytoplankton from the water column (Pace et al., 1990; Wylie Currie, 1991). Zooplankton community composition is potentially affected by natural marine water chemistry, marine topography, biological factors anthropogenic changes in water. Studying heterogeneity community composition of Zooplankton is of interest to marine ecological researchers managers because a diverse * Email: ehsan_abedi@inio.ac.ir plentiful zooplankton community indicates healthy marine environment (Larink Westheide, 2011). The marine zooplankton community of the Persian Gulf waters is comprised of abundant fascinating organisms representatives of all the major invertebrate phyla (Al-Yamani et al., 2011). The body of the Persian Gulf water has a maximum depth of about 60 m its photic zone mostly extends down to 6 15 m (Siebold, 1973). High temperatures in summer dry winds in winter cause 1 2 m evaporation per year, in addition to general lack of low precipitation in the Persian Gulf region. Salinity of >39 psu is common in most of the Persian Gulf waters (Sheppard et al., 2010). As such, surface water temperature high salinity 17

Abedi et al. / Zooplankton Community Composition in the Northwestern N Part of the Persian Gulf level are important environmental stressors in the Persian Gulf (Schiedek et al., 2007). Researching Zooplankton community abundance composition provides excellent indicators of determining trophic statuss of environment as such, is an essential component in forming a more complete understing of the marine ecosystems its sustainable functioning of biological fishery resources (Tan et al., 2004; Richardson, 2008; Richardson et al., 2013). Community composition of zooplankton, with few exceptions, usually remains constant for many decades, because these organisms have adapted to the physicochemical characteristics of the environment have outcompeted other species (Gannon Stemberger, 1978). Perturbations that change the physicochemical milieu or alternation in the balance of competition between species can cause some species disappear other species to appear (Gannon Stemberger, 1978). Zooplanktonn of the Persian Gulf have been studied extensively (Michel et al., 1986a, b, Al Yamani et al., 1998, Khalfe-Nilsaz et al., 2002, Falahi et al., 2003, ROPME, 2004; Haghi et al., 2010). In the present study, we investigated the zooplankton community composition in a less studied area to determine a benchmark on zooplankton z composition, abundance distribution in the northwestern part of the Persian Gulf management in future. 2. Materials d Methods 2.1. Cruise The cruise was carried out during Dec. 2012 PG- GOOS (Persian Gulf G Gulff of Oman Oceanographicc Study) oceanographic cruise on board N/V Ja Nayb throughout the northwestern part of the Persian Gulf. Three stations were sampled on six transects with 10-20, 25-35 40-50 nautical miles from coastline (Fig. 1, Table 1). for further monitoring environmental Fig. 1: Map of the northwestern part of the Persian Gulf indicating seventeen sampling sites in 2012 18

Journal of the Persian Gulf (Marine Science)/Vol. 5/No. 18/December 2014/10/17-26 Table. 1. Location physicochemical parameters of sampled stations Station Transect Latitude Longitude Depth (m) Temperature Salinity ph Code No ( C) (psu) 1 1 27.2594 51.0560 70.00 23.70 39.80 8.10 2 1 27.4912 51.2106 75.50 23.40 39.90 8.20 3 1 27.7229 51.3660 23.00 23.50 39.50 8.20 4 2 28.2010 51.1026 25.00 21.80 39.80 8.30 5 2 27.9996 50.8997 60.10 23.00 39.60 8.30 6 2 27.7869 50.7258 65.10 23.50 39.90 8.30 7 3 28.2420 50.5495 60.00 23.20 39.30 8.30 8 3 28.4291 50.7537 50.10 22.50 39.50 8.30 9 3 28.5637 50.8700 30.10 22.70 39.60 8.20 10 4 28.8359 50.6090 39.80 22.50 39.80 8.20 11 4 28.6385 50.3995 55.10 23.40 40.30 8.20 12 4 28.4408 50.1908 59.30 23.30 40.30 8.20 13 5 29.3167 50.3079 20.00 21.90 39.70 8.20 14 5 29.0921 50.1124 45.00 23.20 39.50 8.20 15 5 28.9037 49.8791 50.00 23.10 40.10 8.30 16 6 29.3650 49.7032 40.00 22.50 39.80 8.30 17 6 29.5408 49.9250 38.00 21.50 39.80 8.30 2.2. Field Sampling Laboratory Depth, temperature, salinity, ph were measured using CTD instrument (IDRONAUT Co). Zooplankton were sampled vertically using a bongo net (Hydro-Bios Co.) with specification of 50 cm diameter, length 180 cm 300 µm mesh size at 17 stations. Two samples were taken from each station. The volume of water filtered was calculated using flow data from built-in Hydro-Bios flowmeter. The zooplankton samples were rinsed preserved in 5% formalin for further identification of species enumeration in the laboratory. Zooplanktons were enumerated identified (Larink Westheide, 2011; Al-Yamani et al., 2011; Richardson et al., 2013) using a Nikon SMZ1500 zoom stereomicroscope. All individuals were identified, where possible, to group, species or genus zooplankton community composition abundances determined heterogeneous variances were transformed (Underwood, 1997). The density data were not homogenous transformation methods failed to reduce the heterogeneity. Yet a fourth-root transformation was applied on density data to reduce the effect of highly abundant species. (1) Stations; (2) Transects; (3) offshore, mid-shore nearshore waters selected as independent variable for ANOVA analyses using SPSS (v. 22) software. The data of current study interpolated by Kriging methods for distribution map of zooplankton using ArcGIS software (V. 9.3). The grouping of zooplankton community structure was analyzed (cluster analysis) using PRIMER version 5 software. 3. Results 3.1. Zooplankton Composition, Abundance Distribution 2.3. Data Analyses In the statistical analysis, the mean abundance of each species at each station for a total average of two repetitions at each station was calculated. The homogeneity of data was investigated by Kolmogorov- Smirnov test prior to ANOVA data sets with List of identified zooplankton groups is shown in Table 2. Mean zooplankton abundance (±SE) was calculated 285 (±1.7) ind. m -3. The highest (644 ind.m -3 ) the lowest (62 ind.m -3 ) zooplankton abundances were recorded from stations 1 13, respectively. Elevated abundances were found at stations 3, 4, 5 6 in the transect 1 2 across 19

Abedi et al. / Zooplankton Community Composition in the Northwestern N Part of the Persian Gulf the Mond Protected Area (Fig. 2). Three-way analysis of ANOVA indicated significant difference in zooplankton abundance between different stations (p<0.05) (N=17, F=1.56) transects p<0.05) (N=6, F=2.21) as zooplankton abundance of transect 6 was significantly lower than those of transects 1, 2, 3 4 that of transectt 5 significantly lower than in transects 1 2. The three-way analysis of ANOVA indicated significant differences in the zooplankton abundance of offshore water, compared to mid- near-shore waters of sampling area (p< <0.05). Copepods were the most dominant component of zooplankton in the study area, both in terms of species diversity abundance. Copepods accounted for at least 41.49% of the total zooplankton abundance in the water column. Calanoid copepods of the genera Acartia, Centropages, Eucalanus, E Euchaeta, Cacia, Labidocera, Lucicutia, Temora Undinula accounted for 65.69%,; cyclopoid copepods of the genus Oithona comprised 23.27% followed by poecilostomatoidd copepods of the genuss Corycaeus (9.60%) harpacticoid copepods off the genus Microsetella d Macrosetella (1.45%). The mean abundance of copepods wass 118 ind.m -3- (Table 2). The highest copepods abundance was 274 ind.m -3 at station 1 near Mond Protectedd Area. Fig. 2: Mean zooplankton abundance in different stations (±S. E) in 2012 Table 2. List of Zooplanktons groups d species from the northwestern Persian Gulf in 2012 Copepoda Calanoids Acartia spp. Centropages spp. Eucalanus spp. Euchaeta spp. Cacia spp. Labidocera spp. Lucicutia spp. Temora spp. Undinula spp. Cyclopoids Oithona spp. Poecilostomatoids Corycaeus spp. Harpacticoids Macrosetella sp. Microsetella sp. Ostracoda Euconchoecia sp. Medusa Aglaura hemistoma Bassia bassensis Cunina octonaria Diphyes spp. Solmundellaa bitentaculataa Radiolaria Chaetognatha Sagitta sp. Tunicata Oikopleura sp. Thalia sp. Decapoda larvae Cladocera Penilia avirostris Polychaeta larvae Echinodermata larvae Auricularia larvae Ophiopluteus larvae Ophiothrix larvae Luciferidae Luciferr hanseni Luciferr typica Unidentified eggs Bivalvia larvae Pteropoda Creseiss sp. Bryozoa larvae Gastropoda larvae Amphipoda Cephalochordata Fishes larvae 20

Journal of the Persian Gulf (Marine Science)/Vol. 5/No. 18/December 2014/10/17-26 Other (14.72%), zooplankton group included Ostracoda Medusa (8.83%), Radiolaria (7. 15%), Chaetognatha (5.74%), Tunicata (5.70%), Decapoda larvae (4.61%), Cladocera (3.04%), Polychaeta larvae (2.19%), Echinodermataa larvae (1.74%), Luciferidae (1.45%), unidentified eggs (1.05%), Bivalva larvae (0.91%), Pteropoda (0.66%), Bryozoa larvae (0.24%), Gastropoda larvae (0. 16%), Amphipoda (0. 16%), Cephalochordata (0.08%) fish larvae (0.08%) of the total zooplankton abundance in the water column (Fig. 3). As shown in Fig. 4 5, the distribution map produced for total zooplankton copepoda abundance of total zooplankton was relatively higher in the southern part of the study area. There was a sharp boundary line between zooplankton abundance in the northern southern areas. The most populated zooplankton communities were located at the Mond Protected Area. Among different zooplankton assemblagesa s, copepod species were the most dominant group. Fig. 3: Combination of different taxonomic groups of zooplankton (±S. E) inn 2012 Fig. 4: Distribution map of total zooplankton 21

Abedi et al. / Zooplankton Community Composition in the Northwestern N Part of the Persian Gulf Fig. 5: Distribution map of Copepoda 3.2. Cluster Analysis Grouping of zooplankton community structure in northwestern part of the Persian Gulf using mean abundance of zooplanktonn in different stations is shown in Figures 6 7. Three groups resulted from data classification of abundance fourth f root (A: station 13, C: station 17, 16, 4, 3, B: other stations, those of presence/absence of species data classification consisted of A: station s 13, B: stations 16, 4, 3, C: remaining stations). Fig. 7: Cluster analysis of zooplankton community structure (presence/absence off species) 3.3. Environmen tal Parameters Fig. 6: Cluster analysis of zooplankton community structure (abundance fourth root) Pearson correlation test indicated no significant correlation between zooplankton abundance with depth, salinity ph but with temperaturee (p<0.05, r 2 =0.27). Regression test revealed only 27 % of zooplankton abundance changed with temperaturee rise (Fig. 8). 22

Journal of the Persian Gulf (Marine Science)/Vol. 5/No. 18/December 2014/10/17-26 Fig. 8: Correlation between zooplankton water temperature of the northwestern Persian Gulf in 2012 4. Discussion It is evident that copepods were dominant over other zooplankton groups both in terms of number of species their abundance. Copepods are cosmopolitan comprised over 41% of total zooplanktonn in this study, a finding confirming Lara- the Lara Matus-Herne (1997)) report. Inn present study, swarming behavior of mixed copepod populations were observed. The calanoid copepods showed swarming with cyclopoid copepods of the genus Oithona (Omori Hamner, 1982). This occurrence has been observed in waters of tropical subtropical regions (Kimoto et al., 1988).. The abundant calanoid cyclopoid copepods of the planktons form the first vital link in i the food chain (Huys Boxshall, 1991). Jacob et al (1980) reported zooplankton copepods formed the most important constituent (77.4 %) whichh was about 20 % more than previously recorded values in the Persian Gulf waters. Yamazi (1974) Jacob et al (1979) also observed prevalence of copepods over other zooplanktonn groups in the Persian Gulf. This suggests that copepods play an important role in controlling of the Persian Gulf phytoplanktons also reducing the potential for occurrencee of red tides blooms (Tan et al., 2004). Zooplankton samples collected from the Persian Gulf, as a shallow body of water,, contained some larval stage of benthic (Meroplankton) or nektonic species (Crisp, 1976; Basson et al., 1977). The larvae of Decapoda,, Polychaeta, Echinodermata, Bivalvia, Bryozoa d Gastropoda constitutes 9.85 % of zooplankton community c composition in northwestern part of the Persian Gulf. The highest Meroplankton abundance was recorded at station 4 in transect 2 across the Mond Protected Area (MPA). The Meroplankton n abundance of station 4 were related to shallowness of o the water column in the Persian Gulf (Crisp, 1976; Basson et al., 1977) unique characteristicss of MPA. abundance was observed at station 1 in i transect 1. In addition, elevated abundances were found at stations 3, 4, 5 6 in transectss 1 2 across the MPA, respectively. Also, according to the ANOVA GIS analyses, stations of transects 1 2 across MPA River Estuary (MRE) iss created by the flow freshwater within MPA in the northwestern part of significant role of nutrient loading in estuarine increase zooplankton abundance a (Breitburg ett al., 1999) diversifies dominance succession (Breitburg et al., 1999; Park Marshall, 2000). In addition, presencee of mangroves inn the MPA provides a potential habitat for having higher nutrientt budget at the stations near the MPA d consequently, influencing the vitality quantity of o zooplanktons (Nickerson, 1999). Cluster analysis revealeded that there are three distinct groups of zooplankton z (Similarity matrices m of abundance fourth f root presence/absence of species). Temperature was one of the most important i The highest zooplankton were more diverse than other transects. The Mond the Persian Gulf. G Many y studies have pointed the ecosystems ( Sautour et al., 1996) which causes an in phytoplankton productivity zooplanktonn species composition, at 70% similarity s level physical factors affecting zooplankton abundance a in stations. Alll metabolic rates of zooplankton are dependent on temperature (Heinle, 1969). In subtropical waters with the water temperature rises, zooplankton may increase with temperature t rise. Temperature is probably the single most, but not exclusive important physical variable structuring marine ecosystems in this part of the Persian Gulf (Tan of 23

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