Zooplankton Composition and Diversity in Western Bay of Bengal

Abstract

The biomass of zooplankton ranged from 1-90 ml/100 m3 in the western Bay of Bengal from off Sri Lanka to south of Calcutta in June 1978. The coastal belt between Madras and Visakhapatnam where upwelling is known to occur during the season showed higher standing stock. Copepoda formed the dominant group followed by Decapoda and Chaetognatha. Species composition of various groups and their distribution is discussed. A general inverse relationship between biomass and species diversity was the trend. Diversity was higher in the oceanic realm