| Microzooplankton abundance, biomass and composition were investigated in the coastal waters of Asturias (southern Bay of Biscay) in May 1996. Abundance ranged from 0.7 x 10(3) to 8.5 x 10(3) cell.L-1 The protists community was dominated by aloricate ciliates averaging 82 % of microheterotrophs. Small aloricate ciliates, below 20 mu m in size, contributed 63 % to total ciliate abundance. Carbon biomass ranged from 2.4 to 15.4 mgC.m(-3), averaging 23 % of phytoplankton biomass. Aloricate ciliates were also the dominant component of biomass (56.2 %), but the importance of copepod nauplii increased in terms of carbon, averaging 28.5 % of total biomass. Microzooplankton biomass was significantly correlated with Chi a concentration in the water column.... |
