Abstract
Data are presented on the quantitative vertical and horizontal distribution of twenty-one species of copepods from two families. Oncaeidae and Corcyaeidaw, in the upper 500m of the Gulf of Mexico and Yucatan Strait area. Samples were collected with a Longhurst-Hardy Sampling System and open half-meter nets. A key and drawings are presented for the species discussed in the study. One new species of the genus Oncaea and a new form of the species Oncaea Mediterranea are recognized. No correlation is found between the abundance of any species and the general horizontal geostrophic current pattern or the two water masses present in the Gulf Area. Abundances of many species show a great degree of variation and some discussion of this variation is presented. Vertical distributions are discussed for each species. Species overlap one another vertically but some degree of isolation can be observed on the depths of maximum numbers. Population parameters such as limits of vertical distribution and features of the vertical frequency distribution are primarily a function of the quantitative abundance of a species in an area. A general discussion is presented of the potential sources of field variability and mechanical errors which may effect the quantification of the data and their inferences.
Ferrari, Frank Domenico (1973). Some Corycaeidae and Oncaeidae (Copepoda: Cyclopoida) from the epipelagic waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University. Libraries. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /DISSERTATIONS -153846.