Studies on Free-Living Copepods of Wellington Harbour

Abstract

This research has been undertaken as a contribution to the knowledge of the free-living marine Copepoda of the New Zealand waters. In spite of the universal recognition of the fundamental role of these animals as important links in the food-chain of animals of direct economic importance, the Copepoda of our waters are at the best but poorly known and have been little studied. To date, 111 species have been recorded in the literature, but there have been only two New Zealand workers on the group. Of these, Percival (1937) has worked exclusively with fresh-water species, and Thomson with the marine. The majority of species have been described by overseas workers, who, but for Kramer (1894), Brehm (1929) and Keifer (1933) did not publish in New Zealand. The lack of attention paid to marine biology in New Zealand reflects our need of a marine biological station devoted primarily to research. The Marine Biological station at Portobello, Dunedin, (an economic project), was established mainly as a fish hatchery, and although research was undertaken there, it was not its main purpose. The Marine Department which controls the Portobello station, has no reference to the Copepoda in its Departmental Records, despite the fact that pelagic Copepods are a primary link in the food-chain for the young of most edible fishes. The Colleges of The New Zealand University have no facilities available to them for marine research, hence the systematics, ecology, physiology and parasitology of this - the largest Order of the Crustacea - has largely been overlooked by New Zealand zoologists.