Romanian Black Sea Zooplankton and Its Role in the Diet of Sprattus in 2016-2017

Abstract

Sprat, a small pelagic species, plays an important role in the trophic chain, being a major predator on zooplankton. This research shows the role of zooplankton and indicates the main mesozooplanktonic groups found in the stomach content of the analyzed samples. A number of 100 sprat individuals were analyzed, collected from stations along the Romanian Black Sea coast. Researches made in 2016-2017 revealed high values of fodder zooplankton, both as density and biomass. Copepods represented the major bulk of mesozooplanktonic organisms in the analysed years, the maximum value of density 11836 ind.m3 being recorded in 2017. Meroplankton recorded the highest values of density in 2016, reaching 12772 ind.m3 . Cladocerans were better represented in 2016,with a maximum value of 1.2124 ind.m3 , other groups reaching higher values of densities and biomass in 2017 with a maximum value of 2522 ind./m3 After analyzing the stomach content, sprat’s diet composition was dominated mainly by Copepoda and meroplankton.The aim of this paper is to show the role of zooplankton in sprat feeding and to provide information regarding the trophic basis in the Romanian Black Sea area.