UC San Diego

Copepod diversity and composition as indicators of the intrusion of the Kuroshio Branch Current into the northern Taiwan Strait in spring 2000. Zoological Studies 43(2): 393-403. This study was carried out during the waning of the northeastern monsoon, at which time the Kuroshio Branch Current intrudes into the northern Taiwan Strait. The Kuroshio Branch Current was characterized by high temperature and salinity in contrast to the low temperature and salinity of the China Coastal Current. A front was induced south of the Haitan Island, which resulted in a phytoplankton bloom when the China Coastal Current and Kuroshio Branch Current met. The front is marked by a temperature of 18 +/- 2 degreesC and a salinity of 33 +/- 0.5 psu. The intrusion of the Kuroshio Branch Current apparently influenced the species diversity of copepods. Species richness and diversity were higher in the area affected by the Kuroshio Branch Current than that affected by the China Coastal Current. No significant differences in the copepod abundances between the two water masses were observed. Species assemblages were distinct in the two water masses. The China Coastal Current contained only coastal/neritic cold-water species, while the Kuroshio Branch Current consisted of coastal, neritic, and oceanic warm-water species. Indicator species of each water mass were identified and are discussed. http://www.sinica.edu.tw/zool/zoolstud/43.2/393.pdf.