Studies of the hyperbenthic plankton community in Davies Reef lagoon, central Great Barrier Reef

Seasonal and diel variations in community structure and abundance of the hyperbenthic plankton community were investigated in the lagoon of Davies Reef between June 1980 and May 1981.Three replicate sets of diurnal and nocturnal plankton samples were collected from the lagoon floor and from surface, mid and deep strata using an epibenthic trap and plankton nets at depths between 8 and 11m . Mysids are a highly visible and characteristic taxa within zooplankton assemblages in coral reef lagoons, which have been under-represented in lagoon plankton samples, due to their ability to escape from traps. The use of an epibenthic trap designed specifically to make use of the mysids' escape response has enabled researchers to provide quantitative data on the seasonal, diel and small-scale spatial variations in the species composition and abundance of the resident epibenthic mysid community. While the focus of this study was on mysids, a range of other hyperbenthic plankton taxa were captured. These include gammarids, calanoids, ostracods, harpacticoids, cyclopoids, nematodes, caprellids and cumaceans.