Zooplankton in the Schelde estuary (Belgium/The Netherlands). The distribution of Eurytemora affinis:effect of oxygen?

Ward Appeltans (1) , Abdelhacq Hannouti (1) , Stefan van Damme (2) , Karline Soetaert (3) , Rik Vanthomme (1) , Micky Tackx (4)

1 Ecology and Systematics Laboratory
2 Ecosystem management research group - ECOBE (Wilrijk, Belgium)
3 Centre for Estuarine and Coastal Ecology
4 LEH - Laboratoire d'écologie des hydrosystèmes

During the 1990s, a spatial shift of the population of Eurytemora affinis (Copepoda, Calanoida) from brackish water towards lower salinities in the Schelde estuary coincided with an increase in oxygen concentration in the freshwater zone. Other ecological and hydrodynamic factors potentially influencing the spatial distribution of the species did not change significantly in either zone, which suggests that the E. affinis population actively responded to the change in oxygen concentration.

Mots clés: Spatial distribution; Eurytemora affinis; Oxygen; Ecological abundance; Westerschelde estuary; Invertebrata; Arthropoda; Crustacea; Copepoda; Brackish water environment; Environmental factor; Europe; Netherlands; Belgium; Estuaries; Zooplankton

Domaines: Biologie animale; Ecosystèmes

Ward Appeltans, Abdelhacq Hannouti, Stefan van Damme, Karline Soetaert, Rik Vanthomme, et al.. Zooplankton in the Schelde estuary (Belgium/The Netherlands). The distribution of Eurytemora affinis:effect of oxygen?. Journal of Plankton Research, 2003, 25 (11), pp.1441-1445. ⟨10.1093/plankt/fbg101⟩. ⟨hal-01515571⟩