Halocyprid ostracods in Atlantic neuston

✍ Scribed by A. Moguilevsky; M. V. Angel

• Book ID: 104757335
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1975
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 577 KB
• Volume: 32
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0025-3162
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00399208

✦ Synopsis

Twenty-one species of halocyprid ostracods were identified from 7778 specimens caught in 144 neuston net hauls taken from the research vessel "Walther Herwig" in the Atlantic Ocean. Hauls taken during dusk were richer both in specimens and in species than later in the night. Few if any specimens occurred in daytime catches. Eighty-eight percent of the specimens were male Con~oecia spinirostris, which were observed to swarm at the surface at dusk in two positions. Many of the species occurred over a wide range of hydrographic conditions, and only in the region 40~ 39~ did representatives of the cold-water fauna appear. The species could be categorised into 5 groups, depending on zoogeographical ranges and daytime depth distributions; the majority of the species ranged from 4OON -40~ and had daytime maxima in the upper 1OO m. It is concluded that ostracods only constitute important food items for carnivores feeding in the neuston when the latter are permanently in the neuston; the occurrence of vertically migrating carnivores does not coincide with the maximum occurrence of ostracods in the neuston. Conchoecia oblonga C. bispinosa C. magna C. secernenda C. parthenoda C. porrecta C. elegans 1.2 mm form 1.6 mm form C. hyalophyllum