The zooplankton of Florida Bay have received comparatively little attention; to date there is not a single published report quantitatively characterizing the resident population nor estimating their contribution to secondary production. The AOML/LUMCON project was initiated to remedy this deficiency. To date samples have been collected over one annual cycle at a bimonthly interval commencing in September 1994. The most abundant net caught copepods were Acartia tonsa, Oithona nana and Paracalanus crassirostris. The former was the most abundant larger copepod (Figure 1). It was also present in reasonably high numbers throughout the year. Copepod nauplii were far more numerous (Figure 2- note change in ordinate scale)) but the specific identity of these has yet to be determined. A molecular probe (ribosomal DNA) was been developed which will in the future be used to routinely accomplish this identification since from morphological examination alone it is difficult to determine the species of the nauplii enumerated. Other copepods that were common but much less abundant included Tortanus setulosis, Euterpina acutifrons, Longipedia helgolandicus and Calanopia americana. The most abundant meroplankton were gastropod larvae and pelecypod larvae. While more highly variable than the copepods these were on occasion by far the most abundant zooplankton and in November reached 187,436/m3. Other meroplankton included zoea, decapod larvae, echinopluteus and heteropod larvae. These higher than expected abundances suggest that zooplankton grazing (both holoplankton and meroplankton) consumes a considerable fraction of phytoplankton primary production (so-called algal blooms) in the Bay as well as much higher plant production (seagrass and mangrove detritus). They represent a critical trophic link in the Florida Bay food web.
