The present study was performed with the objective to characterise the density, relative abundance, frequency of occurrence, specific diversity and species associations of the oceanic macrozooplankton of the "Exclusive Economic Zone". The area under investigation is located between 7º28'56"S - 34º32'45"W and 3º21'08"S - 38º40'29"W, sampled during the second oceanographic expedition REVIZEE/NE on board OV Antares of the Brazilian Navy. Twenty-one samples were taken with bongo type plankton net with 300µm mesh size between 0 and 200 m depth. 63 (sixty and three) taxa were identified. Total density varied from 2,31 to 6,06 ind.m-3 (station 55 and 56) for the whole community and from 0,99 to 4,75 ind.m-3 (station 48 and 57) for Copepoda. Regarding frequency of occurrence, Crustacea and Chaetognatha were very frequent, Cnidaria and Teleostei were frequent, Mollusca, Annelida, and Chordata were less frequent, and Protozoa occurred rarely. Specific diversity varied from 0,648 to 4,037 bits.ind -1, and the equitability from 0,279 to 1,0. Diversity and equitability were low due to the dominance of Undinula vulgaris (Dana, 1849) e Calanopia americana F. Dahl, 1894. Cophenetic analysis revealed a r < 0,8, showing that there were no distinct groups of copepods in the region. The dominant copepod species was Undinula vulgaris, occurring at all stations. The meroplankton was represented mainly by decapod crustacean larvae and fish eggs and larvae, but was less important than the holoplankton community.
Biodiversity; oceanic Copepoda
