Quantitative composition, distribution and abundance of zooplankton communities in relation to physico-chemical parameters from selected beaches of Alappuzha in Arabian Sea, southwest coast of India

Marine zooplanktons which play a vital role in providing enormous ecosystem services are strongly affected by the environmental conditions and play a vital role in marine food web. The present study was an attempt to assess the hydro-geochemical characteristics and zooplankton assemblages along the Alappuzha coast, in Arabian Sea, Kerala, India. Zooplankton composition included eighteen species belonging to six groups. Among zooplankton species, copepods showed greater dominance in the coast. Euterpina acutiferous recorded greater dominance at stations II, III and VI, whereas Calanus finmarchicus dominated stations I, IV and VII and Apocyclops panamensis, at station V. PCA plot illustrated that station IV showed higher values in the distribution of atmospheric and sediment temperature, turbidity, carbon dioxide and sediment organic carbon, whereas dissolved oxygen, TDS, conductivity, hardness and salinity showed higher values at station VII. From the CCA plot it was evident that parameters like atmospheric temperature, surface water pH, sediment redox potential, organic carbon, dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide had strong influence in the distribution of Calanus finmarchicus. Sediment temperature and biological oxygen demand had strong influence on Euterpina acutiferous. As most of the zooplankton assemblages in the present study are excellent live feeds, regular bio monitoring is recommended for preserving these resources.