Comparison of zooplankton abundance and size composition at reef and open water habitats of Bidong Island, Terengganu

Abstract

A study to compare the abundance of zooplankton between the reef habitat and open water habitat using horizontal and vertical towing and 1 OOμm and 250μm size fraction was carried out. The samples were collected from reef habitat, mid water and lastly at the open water of Bidong Island, Terengganu. Generally, the vertical abundance of zooplankton increased from reef habitat ( coastal) towards the open water habitat. On the other hand, the horizontal abundance decreases from reef habitat to open water. The vertical abundance of zooplankton was higher than the horizontal abundance. lOOμm size fractions give rise to the zooplankton abundance in vertical abundance. No much variation was found in horizontal abundance in the both size fractions. Copepods were the major zooplankton group in all stations.