Carbon and nitrogen elemental composition, abundance, and natural abundance of stable isotopes in planktonic copepods from six geographical zones in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Zooplankton samples were collected on two oceanographic cruises from August to December 2003 using a bongo cone net (333 μm mesh light). The isotopic signatures were measured as δ15N and δ13C in twelve selected species based on their dominance and feeding types.

Zooplankton samples collected with oblique tows of bongo net (0.6 m in diameter; 333 μm mesh) from 200 m deep to the surface. A flowmeter was used on the out-board net, and an average of 438 m³ of water was filtered per tow.Feeding type assignments based on the literature and morphology of buccal apparatus. Sizes obtained from http://copepodes.obs-banyuls.fr/en [accessed on October 2017]Projects:Stenella Abundance Research (STAR), NOAA Southwest Fisheries Center, USA; CONACyT project 221705, Mexico