Taxonomic Composition and Grazing Rate of Calanoid Copepods in Coastal Waters of Northern Taiwan

Taxonomic composition and grazing rate of calanoid copepods in coastal waters in the northern tip of Taiwan was studied in May 1996. During the study period chlorophyll a concentrations in the upper 2 m of the water column were low. Twenty-five species of calanoid copepods were identified. Acrocalanus gracilis, Canthocalanus pauper, Temora discaudata, Temora turbinata, and Undinula vulgaris were found over the entire study area. Gut pigment content of 17 species was measured with the gut fluorescence method. The variability of the gut pigment contents for a single species among the sampling stations comprised about a factor 2 to 4. Ingestion rates and clearance rates were calculated from gut pigment data. The highest values were observed in Temora discaudata, Temora turbinata, and Undinula vulgaris.