Copepoda community imprints the continuity of the oceanic and shelf oxygen minimum zones along the west coast of India.

ABSTRACT

The largest continental shelf Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) in the world is formed along the Indian western shelf in the eastern Arabian Sea during the Southwest Monsoon [(SWM); June-September], which is a natural pollution event associated with the coastal upwelling. This study examines the composition, abundance, and distribution of copepods during the Northeast Monsoon [(NEM); November to February] and SWM in 50 m depth zones along the Indian western shelf in the eastern Arabian Sea. The NEM was characterised by warm, stratified, and low-salinity waters in the southeast Arabian Sea and cold, high-salinity, and well-mixed waters in the northeastern Arabian Sea. During the SWM, cold and Dissolved Oxygen (DO) deficient waters (<22 µM/0.5 ml L-1), which are the signs of coastal upwelling, were evident all along the study zone, but with more intensity off Kochi, Mangalore, and Goa in the south than off Mumbai and Okha in the north. The zooplankton total biomass and abundance showed seasonality with a general decrease during the SWM (av. 3.68 ± 1.29 ml m-3 and av. 5711 ± 3096 Ind. m-3, respectively) compared to the NEM (av. 7.37 ± 2.17 ml m-3 and av. 14,473 ± 4966 Ind. m-3, respectively). At the same time, the abundance of Polychaeta and Siphonophora showed an increase during the SWM (av. 1187 ± 1055 Ind. m-3 and av. 169 ± 119 Ind. m-3, respectively), probably a result of the DO deficient waters associated with upwelling. Two striking seasonal features in Copepoda community were evident in this study (a) a compositional shift from Cyclopoida dominant during the NEM to Calanoida dominant during the SWM, and (b) the coastal OMZ along the Indian western shelf during the SWM was dominated by Calanoida, which include oceanic OMZ species such as Pleuromamma indica, Lucicutia flavicornis, L.paraclausii, Eucalanus elongatus, Subeucalanus pileatus, S.subcrassus, and Clausocalanus furcatus. This forms a clear imprint for the extension of the oceanic OMZ into nearshore waters during the SWM due to coastal upwelling.