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An analysis of factors controlling the distribution of zooplankton in the Knysna estuary, South Africa

The Knysna estuary system, on the south coast of South Africa, was sampled for zooplankton over period of one year. All species were recorded and an attempt was made at relating the distribution of populations to physical factors within the estuary. Over 50 species were identified. Pseudodiaptomus h...

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Main Author: Veldhuis, Helen Anne
Other Authors: Griffiths, Charles L
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Biological Sciences 2016
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access_status_str Open Access
author Veldhuis, Helen Anne
author2 Griffiths, Charles L
author_browse Griffiths, Charles L
Veldhuis, Helen Anne
author_facet Griffiths, Charles L
Veldhuis, Helen Anne
author_sort Veldhuis, Helen Anne
collection Thesis
description The Knysna estuary system, on the south coast of South Africa, was sampled for zooplankton over period of one year. All species were recorded and an attempt was made at relating the distribution of populations to physical factors within the estuary. Over 50 species were identified. Pseudodiaptomus hessei, Acartia(Paracartia) longipatella and A.(Acartiella) natalensis were the dominant copepods in the upper estuary. Paracalanus spp. were dominant near the mouth. Zooplankton distribution was found to be related to tidal exchange. The zooplankton displayed a seasonal cycle of abundance, with maximum numbers occuring during summer. P. hessei displayed no pronounced seasonal cycle in abundance. Its abundance was strongly related to freshwater inflow. Seasonal succession was evident between A. natalensis, the summer dominant, and A. longipatella, the winter dominant. The controlling factors for this cyclical dominance were not clear. Diel vertical migration behaviour was shown to various degrees by virtually all zooplankton populations. The stimulus for this behaviour could not be definitely identified.
format Thesis
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:47:56.817Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2016
publishDateRange 2016
publishDateSort 2016
publisher Department of Biological Sciences
publisherStr Department of Biological Sciences
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/22015 An analysis of factors controlling the distribution of zooplankton in the Knysna estuary, South Africa Veldhuis, Helen Anne Griffiths, Charles L Zooplankton Estuarine ecology Zoology The Knysna estuary system, on the south coast of South Africa, was sampled for zooplankton over period of one year. All species were recorded and an attempt was made at relating the distribution of populations to physical factors within the estuary. Over 50 species were identified. Pseudodiaptomus hessei, Acartia(Paracartia) longipatella and A.(Acartiella) natalensis were the dominant copepods in the upper estuary. Paracalanus spp. were dominant near the mouth. Zooplankton distribution was found to be related to tidal exchange. The zooplankton displayed a seasonal cycle of abundance, with maximum numbers occuring during summer. P. hessei displayed no pronounced seasonal cycle in abundance. Its abundance was strongly related to freshwater inflow. Seasonal succession was evident between A. natalensis, the summer dominant, and A. longipatella, the winter dominant. The controlling factors for this cyclical dominance were not clear. Diel vertical migration behaviour was shown to various degrees by virtually all zooplankton populations. The stimulus for this behaviour could not be definitely identified. 2016-09-29T17:15:44Z 2016-09-29T17:15:44Z 1987 Master Thesis Masters MSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22015 eng application/pdf Department of Biological Sciences Faculty of Science University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Zooplankton
Estuarine ecology
Zoology
Veldhuis, Helen Anne
An analysis of factors controlling the distribution of zooplankton in the Knysna estuary, South Africa
thesis_degree_str Master's
title An analysis of factors controlling the distribution of zooplankton in the Knysna estuary, South Africa
title_full An analysis of factors controlling the distribution of zooplankton in the Knysna estuary, South Africa
title_fullStr An analysis of factors controlling the distribution of zooplankton in the Knysna estuary, South Africa
title_full_unstemmed An analysis of factors controlling the distribution of zooplankton in the Knysna estuary, South Africa
title_short An analysis of factors controlling the distribution of zooplankton in the Knysna estuary, South Africa
title_sort analysis of factors controlling the distribution of zooplankton in the knysna estuary south africa
topic Zooplankton
Estuarine ecology
Zoology
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22015
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