Zooplankton abundance and distribution at Minicoy lagoon, Lakshadweep

Abstract

The environmental parameters such as water temperature, salinity, cloud cover, wind force, rainfall and tide that influence the distribution and abundance of zooplankton at two sites in Minicoy lagoon were studied from August 1994 to July 1995. The northern part of the lagoon with more live corals had better abundance of zooplankton when compared to the southern area. Zooplankton from different lagoon bottoms namely coralline, sandy and seagrass bed did not show significant variation between sites. Copepods, amphipods and decapod larvae were the dominant groups.