Desalination plants do not impact the diversity or abundance of zooplankton of the Israeli coast

In order to evaluate the impact of desalination facilities on the diversity and abundance of zooplankton, the abundance and structure of the zooplankton community were sampled along the Israeli Levantine shallow coast in the vicinity of desalination facilities. Samples were collected at two sites (Hadera and Ashqelon) during different seasons over a period of 15 months from November 2016 to January 2018. Tows were conducted above bottom depths of 2–28 m with both surface and deeper tows collected during the day and night. Results show a strong seasonality in taxonomic composition and differences in abundance in different taxa groups. There were, however, no differences between day and night, surface and deeper tows, and no impact of the brine plume. Abundance estimates correspond well with other recent studies of zooplankton abundance and community composition in other regions of the Eastern Levantine. This study represents the first quantitative survey of zooplankton conducted along Israeli Levantine shallow coast.