Microzooplankton from oligotrophic waters off south west WA: Biomass, diversity and impact on phytoplankton

The abundance, biomass, and diversity of microzooplankton and their herbivorous impact on phytoplankton were examined on a cross shelf transect (see thumbnail), sampling five stations from February 2002 to December 2004, and in a pair of mesoscale eddies ~300km from the coast on the seaward side of the Leeuwin Current. Prior to this study, no research on microzooplankton from temperate waters off Western Australia had been undertaken.