Zooplankton of the Eastern South Pacific (OBIS, ESPOBIS)

The Humboldt Current System is one the large and highly productive upwelling ecosystems of the world ocean. In the coastal upwelling system of northern and central/south of Chile a data base of marine zooplankton has been created after more than 15 years of study. Samples collections are available from 18º S to 36º S. This zooplankton sustains a strong fishery economy in Chile mostly based on small pelagic fishes, such as anchovies and sardines. Zooplankton species have been identified with help from well-known experts for copepod and euphausiid taxonomy. Many samples from other taxa are available and their identification is under progress. It is thus expected that the data base for zooplankton of the Pacific sub-node will continuously grow in the next few months.