Resumen

ALVAREZ-SILVA, Carlos  y  TORRES-ALVARADO, María del Rocío. Composition and abundance of zooplankton from Coyuca Lagoon, Guerrero, Mexico. Hidrobiológica [online]. 2013, vol.23, n.2, pp.241-249. ISSN 0188-8897.

The composition and abundance of zooplankton in the Coyuca lagoon, in the Mexican Pacific coast, was analyzed during four months of 1999. Zooplankton samples obtained at 10 stations from surface tows were analyzed. Twelve species of copepods, one of Chaetognatha, and two Tunicata, six larval forms belonging to Polychaeta, Copepoda, Brachyura, Thalassinidae, and fish eggs and larvae were identified. In all months monitored copepods were the most representative group of zooplankton, ranging between 79.5% and 100% of the total abundance. The species deemed as resident were Ergasilus sp. and Pseudodiaptomus culebrensis, whereas Oithona nana, Acartia tonsa, and A. lilljeborgii are temporal euryhaline forms. Other zooplankters, including the siphonophorae Diphyes dispar, the Chaetognatha Sagitta sp., and the copepod Canthocalanus pauper outline the influence of coastal marine waters in Coyuca. Significant positive correlations (p < 0.05) were determined between temperature and salinity with the abundance of zooplankton.

Palabras llave : Coastal lagoons; copepods; oligohaline systems; zooplankton.