Planktonic copepods from coastal and inshore waters of Tudor Creek, Mombasa

Abstract

Fifty two free swimming planktonic copepod species were identified from the samples collected from three stations in Tudor Creek. This appears to be the first systematic account of copepods reported from the coastal and inshore waters of Kenya. Zooplankton is a source of food for many species which themselves serve as a basis for the artisanal fishery well known in East Africa. To understand the secondary and tertiary productivity, it is desirable that the systematics of the zooplankton is known. As copepods are quantitatively the most important group, research on this taxon is particularly significant. Although much work has been done in South Africa and in the Red Sea, the copepod fauna of East Africa is not well known, except for the work of Sewell (1929, 1932,1947,1948), and Smith and Lane (1981), who worked in the western Indian Ocean, but did not include creek waters. Wick-stead (1965, 1968) reported on tropical plankton, while Okera (1974) reported on the zooplankton of the inshore waters of Tanzania. Reay and Kimaro (1984) reported on the zooplankton from Tudor Creek. This study demonstrated the possibility of seasonal, lunar and tidal influences on the abundance and composition of zooplankton at the mouth of Tudor Creek. Apart from that no attempt has been made to study the marine copepod fauna in Kenya. The taxonomy of the free-swimming copepods of Kenya will also contribute to the knowledge of the zoogeography of this group.