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Marine Biology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Louisiana State University

2020

Decomposition

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Marine Biology

Temporal And Spatial Trends Of Dead Copepods In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico In Relation To The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Jessica L. Tolan May 2020

Temporal And Spatial Trends Of Dead Copepods In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico In Relation To The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Jessica L. Tolan

LSU Master's Theses

Zooplankton are a critical link between primary producers and higher trophic levels in the marine environment. They play a critical role in carbon cycling, are an important food source for commercially important species, and are excellent indicator genera for environmental changes that take place in marine ecosystems. This research quantified temporal and spatial patterns of dead copepods in response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (DWH) site using ZooSCAN imaging technologies. Research showed that the proportion of dead copepods (showed evidence of decay but no physical damage due to predation) increased with depth, and at time periods closest to the …