JPR Advance Access originally published online on September 6, 2005
Journal of Plankton Research 2005 27(9):863-874; doi:10.1093/plankt/fbi059
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Differences in the abundance and distribution of copepods in two estuaries of the Basque coast (Bay of Biscay) in relation to pollution
1 Laboratory of Ecology, Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of the Basque Country, E-01006 Gasteiz, Spain and 2 Laboratory of Ecology, Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of the Basque Country, 644 P. K. E-48008 Bilbao, Spain
* Corresponding Author: gvpvigul{at}lg.ehu.es
Received June 8, 2005; accepted in principle July 26, 2005; accepted for publication August 30, 2005; published online September 6, 2005
Communicating editor: K.J. Flynn
The abundance and spatial distribution of copepod species were compared in the euhaline region of the polluted estuary of Bilbao [mean biological oxygen demand (BOD): 49748.05 kg day–1 in 1996] and the unperturbed estuary of Urdaibai. Sampling was performed at fixed salinity sites, where data of temperature, dissolved oxygen saturation, particulate organic matter, Secchi disk depth and chlorophyll were also obtained. Differences between the estuaries and within the estuaries for environmental variables and copepod abundances were tested statistically. The dominant species Acartia clausi and Paracalanus parvus differed significantly in abundance between estuaries, and most of neritic species diminished more drastically with decreasing salinity in Bilbao by the effect of pollution. The different responses observed among species in relation to pollution and water desalination are discussed. The lack of the brackish-water species in Bilbao indicated that water quality worsening upward the estuary of Bilbao not only limited the penetration of neritic species but also prevented the development of autochthonous estuarine species. At the outer euhaline region of Bilbao, however, pollution was found to be low enough to enhance the development of tolerant neritic species that are favoured under moderate pollution conditions. Results indicate that comparisons of copepod abundances and distributions with salinity in estuaries may be a useful tool to evaluate the health of the different estuarine pelagic habitats.
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