Occurrence and distribution pattern of copepods in the vicinity of the Great Meteor Seamount, Northeast Atlantic

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At all stations the zooplankton population was dominated by copepods representing 80 to 95% of the total numbers. Copepods occurred in highest abundance in the upper 300 m of the water column at the plateau as well as in the surrounding water. Within the copepods, calanoids contributed the largest fraction. Only one genus, Clausocalanus, dominated the calanoid assemblage at all stations and accounted for between 33 and 51%. Within the adults, six Clausocalanus species could be identified. Clausocalanus furcatus and C. paululus were the most abundant ones. Both dominant species differed in their distribution pattern: • C. furcatus occurred in higher numbers at the plateau compared to the surrounding oceanic, C. paululus does not show a difference in occurrence. • the maximum abundance of C. furcatus occurred in the upper 100m, whereas C. paululus is most abundant in deeper water layers.