Date of Award

Summer 1995

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biological Sciences

Program/Concentration

Biology

Committee Director

Harold G. Marshall

Committee Member

Raymond W. Alden, III

Committee Member

John R. Holsinger

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.B46 S55

Abstract

Zooplankton community structure and dynamics were studied over a 12 month period in the Elizabeth River, an industrially polluted tidal river in the Chesapeake Bay estuarine system. An additional site in this estuary (Hampton Roads) was sampled for comparative purposes. Multivariate analysis indicated five distinct temporal groups occurred during the year, but there were no significant differences in spatial composition within the river. Maximum zooplankton concentrations were observed in July and lowest abundances were observed in February, March, and November. Copepods, especially Acartia species, were the most abundant components of the zooplankton community, comprising 67 to 93% of the total abundance.

Throughout the study there were low concentrations of zooplankton across all sampling sites in the Elizabeth River. Median abundance of zooplankton during the study was 1.0 x 103 m3 compared with 7.15 x 103 m3 in Hampton Roads. Lowest concentrations were recorded in the southern branch of the Elizabeth River during the late fall and winter when numbers of 25 m were encountered. Comparisons made to other studies indicated the zooplankton density and biomass to be among the lowest recorded for the Chesapeake Bay estuarine complex.

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DOI

10.25777/81vx-q985

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