Distribution and abundance of shallow water hyperbenthic mysids (Crustacea, Mysidacea), and euphausiids (Crustacea, Euphausiacea), in the Voordelta and the Westerschelde, southwest Netherlands

The hyperbenthic mysids and euphausiids of the subtidal shallow coastal waters (the Voordelta) and the Westerschelde estuary in the Delta area (SW Netherlands) were regularly sampled between 1988 and 1991. Two salt marshes in the brackish part of the estuary were studied in the same period. Eight mysid species and one euphausiid species were identified. The spatial and seasonal distribution patterns of all species are described. The most abundant species in the coastal area is Schistomysis spiritus, followed by Mesopodopsis slabberi, Schistomysis kervillei, and Gastrosaccus spinifer. In the marine part of the Westerschelde the same four species are dominant but densities are generally higher than in the coastal area. Only Siriella armata and the euphausiid Nyctiphanes couchi never enter the estuary. Highest mysid densities, mainly M. slabberi and the estuarine endemic Neomysis integer, are found in the brackish part of the Westerschelde. Praunus flexuosus is a euryhaline species with a preference for the intertidal areas. The estuarine populations of N. integer, M. slabberi, P. flexuosus, and - to a lesser extent - S. spiritus seem to utilise the salt marshes during periods of reproduction.

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