Zooneuston from the Santos Basin

This dataset is part of the Santos Basin Characterization Project, funded by Petrobras. The data refer to zooneustonic organisms (epineuston and hyponeuston) and were collected during two periods: October 2019 (winter) and from December 2021 to March 2022 (summer). The samples were collected along the Santos Basin in profiles located in its southernmost portion at Cabo de Santa Marta in Santa Catarina, up to the northern region limited by the location of Cabo Frio. (Brazil). Zooneustonicorganisms were collected using a catamaran-type net (Hydro-Bios model 300). The equipment consists of two overlapping nets supported by two floats. The upper net samples the interface between the atmosphere and the surface film (epineuston), while the lower net collects the first 30 centimeters of the water column (hyponeuston). Both nets have an opening of 15 cm in height and 30 cm in width, a length of 400 cm, and a mesh size of 500 µm. To estimate the volume of water filtered, a General Oceanics flowmeter was attached to the lower net. A total of 195 species was identified, including 35 hydrozoans, 3 branchiopods, 80 copepods, 15 planktonic decapods, 11 chaetognaths, 6 appendicularians, 3 doliolids, 2 salps, and 40 fish larvae. These data are currently being organized and will be submitted for publication in a scientific journal within the relevant field.