Table II:
Percentages of taxonomic counts from background and whale shark feeding plankton samples, determined by microscopy counts
| Taxon | Background samples | Whale shark feeding |
|---|---|---|
| Copepods | 67.3 | 32.2 |
| Calanoids | 50.2 | 17.7 |
| Acartia spp. | 25.5 | <1 |
| Calanoid juvenile | 24.8 | 16.8 |
| Poecilostomatoids | 12.3 | 6.8 |
| Corycaeus spp. | 8.8 | 6.3 |
| Oncea spp. | 3.4 | <1 |
| Cyclopoids | 2.0 | 4.7 |
| Oithona spp. | 2.0 | 4.7 |
| Copepod nauplii | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| Non-copepods | 32.7 | 67.8 |
| Sergestids | 0 | 47.8 |
| Lucifer hanseni f | 0 | 29.9 |
| Lucifer hanseni m | 0 | 17.2 |
| Oikopleurids | 1.6 | 4.9 |
| Eggs | 17.4 | 3.9 |
| Cladocerans | <1 | 3.0 |
| Fish eggs | 2.5 | 2.9 |
| Gastropod shells | 3.5 | 2.1 |
| Brachyuran larvae | 3.1 | 1.9 |
| Decapod larvae | 1.1 | <1 |
| Chaetognaths | 1.0 | <1 |
Only taxa with >1% are shown here. Also found (<1%) were harpacticoid copepods (Microsetella spp. and Macrosetella spp.), Sapphirina spp., fish larvae, bivalves, polychaete larvae, stomatopod larvae, L.hanseni mysis larvae, ostracods, calycophorans, fish scales, isopods, amphipods, mysids and scyphozoans.