Dissertation committee:
Δανιήλ Δανιηλίδης Αναπλ. Καθηγητής (Επιβλέπων), Αθηνά Οικονόμου-Αμίλλη Ομότ. Καθηγήτρια, Αικατερίνη Φραγκοπούλου Επίκ. Καθηγήτρια
Summary:
The research objective of the current work was the quantitative study of the
ecological processes regulating the structure, dynamics and diversity of
zooplankton communities and their role in the planktonic food web in coastal
ecosystems. The work was based on information collected during two annual
cycles from a coastal, shallow, semi-enclosed marine ecosystem in the Aegean
Sea, Kalloni Gulf, in Lesvos Island, Greece. The overall zooplankton standing
stock in Kalloni Gulf, according to the present study, was found higher than
those typically reported for other similar Mediterranean ecosystems
highlighting the uniqueness of the ecosystem. The simplified faunistic
composition, the low biodiversity values and the dominance of small-sized
copepods (<1 mm) in Kalloni Gulf reflects the extreme environmental fluctuation
and the increasing magnitude of eutrophication at the inner gulf. Τhe use of a
90 μm revealed the numerical dominance of small sized species (<1m) and copepod
larval stages in the community indicating the significance of the small-size
fraction in Kalloni Gulf. Copepods were found to play a crucial role in the
planktonic food web in Kalloni Gulf since they are able to shape, through ‘top
down’ mechanisms, microplankton abundance and composition.
Keywords:
Zooplankton, Copepods, Spatiotemporal variability, Biodiversity, Food web
