Distribution, Abundance And Composition Of Zooplankton Along Three Transects, Off The Kenyan Coast

Abstract

Zooplankton was collected along three transects perpendicular to the coast usmg a Multiplankton sampler fitted with 200 11mmesh size nets. These transects were located Gazi (4° 26"00 S, 40° 14"14 E), Sabaki (3° 09"17 S, 40 0 13"49 E) and Kiwayu (2° 04"65 S, 41 ° 17"72 E) near the Somali border. A total of 27 samples were collected during the SE monsoons (June - July), and 31 during the NE monsoon (November - December) 1992. Conductivity, temperature, salinity and depth were simultaneously measured along with plankton samples collected. All this data were used to assess zooplankton abundance, community structure, and distribution along the transects from shallow, to deep waters.