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Abstract:
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Ecology is the study of systems at a level
in which individuals or whole organisms may be
considered elements of interaction, either among
themselves, or with a loosely organised environmental
matrix. Systems at this level are named
ecosystems, and ecology, of course, is the biology
of ecosystems" (Hargalef, 1968).
This thesis includes principally, a study on
the ecology of zooplankton of the Cochin backwaters
conducted during the years 1971-72. This monsoonal
estuarine system is particularly interesting, since
it exhibits a wide range of variations in its environmental
conditions which is naturally reflected in
the fauna also. Several publications on various
aspects of its hydrobiology have come out in the
recent past. But studies on the zooplankton of the
estuary have mostly been discontinuous either in space
or time or restricted to its groups |