Seasonal distribution of Copepods in the Hooghly Estuary, Northern Bay of Bengal

Abstract

Copepods which constitute the major component of zooplankton in the Hooghly estuary were represented by 53 species. Based on salinity tolerance, they were categorised into 3 different groups - perennial, seasonal and casual migrants, Higher abundance of copepods were recorded during the summer period having high salinity values (20.81 to 31.33 x 10 ^-3). Six major families of copepods(Paracalanidae, Pontellidae, Acartiidae, Pseudodiaptomidae, Oithonidae and Ectinosomidae) exhibited varying degrees of coexistence among themselves in the environment.