Seasonal cycle of planktonic communities at Inhaca Island, southern Mozambique

Abstract

Monthly plankton sampling was carried out at three stations on the west coast of Inhaca Island, southern Mozambique, from August 1994 to August 1995. Sampling included water mass physical parameters, nutrients, chlorophyll and zooplankton with nets of 125 and 330 μm pore aperture. Nutrient concentration has shown maxima during the summer months, where rain provides the maximum outflow of rivers discharging into Maputo Bay. Following the nutrient peak, chlorophyll a has shown maxima around the month of April, with another minor peak in September, when temperature begins to increase. Zooplankton densities followed closely the phytoplankton peaks, especially small herbivorous taxa and larval stages, such as gastropod and bivalve larvae.