Abstract:
Zooplankton serve as food for fishes and thus occupy an important position in the food chain. Zooplankton from coastal waters of Malvan were collected from August 2011 - May 2012 with the help of plankton net and were identified using standard keys. Results showed temporal variations amongst zooplankton populations. Copepods and their nauplii were present throughout the study period and they were the most abundant. Other groups present were appendicularians, polychaete larva, amphipods, mysids and fish larvae. Cladocerans were impoverished in occurrence. Study reveals that, there is good food for fish larvae and hence there is every chance to have good potential for fishing.
