Zooplankton populations in Taiaro Atoll lagoon (Tuamoto Archipelago, French Polynesia)

Nocturnal zooplankton around Taiaro Atoll were collected as bycatch while sampling for ichthyoplankton over 6 nights in February 1994. Replicate zooplankton samples were collected at windward and leeward locations in the enclosed lagoon and at adjacent ocean sites, using a metered net (85 cm diameter, 500 µm mesh; 5 m depth): the 36 samples generated a total of 71 taxa and 600 000 individual zooplankters. Data within lagoon sites (both windward and leeward at 5 m depth) is reported by nights (14, 16, 18 Feb) whereas data within ocean sites is reported by isobaths (200, 500 and 1000 m) over which sampling ocurred. Average (mean number of individuals m-3) and relative (percentage of total) abundance of zooplankton taxa were recorded.Oceanic samples comprised 50 taxa, mostly holoplanktonic. Lagoonal samples comprised 19 taxa, mostly meroplanktonic, of which 3 taxa (decapod larvae; an ostracod, Cypridina sp.; a copepod, Acartia fossae) contributed 90% of individuals. The purpose of this expedition was to discover whether the diverse fish assemblages within the lagoon could be self-sustaining despite very limited contact with the ocean. Taxa: Calanoid copepods (Acartia fossae ); Callianassidae; Chaetognatha; Cladocera; Cumacea; Cyclopoid Copepoda; Decapoda; Echinodermata larvae; Echinopluteus larvae; Euphausiacea; Euphausiacea larvae; Fish eggs; Foraminifera; Galatheidae; Gammaridea; Gastropoda larvae; Harpacticoid Copepoda; Heteropoda; Hydromedusa; Hyperid Amphipoda; Isopoda; Larvacea; Megalopa; Miscellaneous eggs; Mysidacea; Nauplii; Non-Brachyuran larvae (Alpheid-Athanas sp., Alpheus sp., Callianassid, Galatheid, Leptochela sp., Laomediid, Periclimenes sp.); Ostracoda (Cypridina sp.); Polychaeta; Polychaeta larvae; Protozoea; Pteropoda; Salpidae; Siphonophora; Stomatopoda larvae; Tanaidacea; Zoea; Other.Fish larvae sampled at the same time are described in a separate metadata record.