Effect of Dredging and Dumping Operations on Zooplankton Community During the Construction of East Branch Harbor, Port Said, Eastern Mediterranean, Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Marine Science Department, Suez Canal University, 41522 Ismailia, Egypt

2 Marine Science Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, 41522 Ismailia, Egypt

Abstract

During the dumping and dredging operations of East Branch Harbor, Port Said, Eastern Mediterranean,
zooplankton community of the surrounding water was studied versus the prevailing environmental
conditions between 1999 and 2000. The most affected environmental variable was total suspended solids
which showed significant increase at different disposal sampling sites. Other conditions of temperature,
salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen content and chlorophyll a were in normal range. The diversity and
abundance of zooplankton community were in normal range recorded in the area without significant
variation between the dumping and the control sites. In total 68 taxa were recorded in the study area. The
density of the total zooplankton standing crop varied between 5021 and 14390 individuals/m3 to 6702
and 16135 individuals/m3, with an average of 8563 and 10071 individuals/m3 at disposal and control
sites, respectively. Copepods outnumbered the total zooplankton (average 65.3%) and are dominated by
Centropages kroyeri, Paracalanus parvus, Clausocalanus arcuicornis, Oithona nana and Euterpina
acutifrons. The results revealed that during the construction of the East Branch Harbor, the dredging and
dumping processes may had a very minor effect on zooplankton community but it was not significant.

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