TRENDS IN COPEPOD COMMUNITIES IN THE NAVESINK AND SHREWSBURY RIVERS, NEW-JERSEY - 1962-1992

The calanoid copepod community was surveyed semi-monthly, from May to July 1992, at three stations in the Navesink-Shrewsbury rivers system, the southernmost branch of the Hudson-Raritan estuary (New York-New J ersey). The dominant species collected during the survey was Acartia h udsonica, followed by A. tonsa. A comparison of this survey with three earlier surveys suggests that the calanoid copepod community and rela tive abundance of dominant species have not changed substantially sinc e the 1960s. Findings from a 1972 study, which noted the absence of A. hudsonica and Pseudodiaptomus coronatus as dominant species, were pro bably reflecting a temporary situation. The variations may have been r elated to a change in water quality, caused by an upgrade in sewage tr eatment completed just prior to the 1972 survey, and/or resulted from the residual effects of Tropical Storm Agnes on this estuary.