Microzooplankton abundance data collected from R/V Bellows cruise of DeSoto Canyon, July 2012 (BE-1301)

This dataset reports microzooplankton species abundance from sites off the Florida Panhandle Bight at the head of DeSoto Canyon. Plankton samples were collected from 13 offshore shelf sites July 8-10, 2012. Samples were collected by vertically towing a 10 micron mesh net through the photic zone. Samples were preserved in 2% Lugols Iodine fixative and were processed in the laboratory under an inverted compound microscope (200x magnification). Plankton samples were identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible. Abundances were recorded as individual counts as well as normalized abundance (i.e. number of each species/total number of specimens examined in sample).