Standing stock and biochemical composition of zooplankton in the northeastern Arabian Sea

Abstract

During November-December 1985 - a period of this study showed significant difference in biomass (dry weight) among the coastal and oceanic waters. Ostracods were the predominant component ( > 47 %) in the coastal zone whereas copepods generally dominated ( > 64 %) in the oceanic zone. Protein was the principal biochemical component with an average value of 44.49 % in the coastal zooplankton and 38.1 per cent in the oceanic zooplankton suggesting that protein, in addition to lipid, may function as a reserve food in tropical zooplankton. Lipid, carbohydrate, ash, carbon and calorific content did not show much variation. Standing crop was estimated as 352.13 mgC.m ^-2 for the upper 50m column of the coastal region, 716.82 mgC.M ^-2 for the upper 200 m column of the oceanic region and 3.44x10 ⁵ tonnes carbon for the entire study area. This study indicates that the coastal region is more productive than oceanic region.