Changes in the composition, richness abundance and biomass of the plankton community on the island of Aves were evaluated, during 18 days interdarium (25 august – 11 September 2008), in the high frequency hurricane season. The phytoplankton was collected with a LaMotte bottle (1 L), in the subsurface (0.5-1 m) while zooplankton was obtained by means of oblique trawls with a plankton net (filter mesh = 285 μm). The composition of the plankton included a mixture of coastal, neritic, and oceanic species. The phytoplankton with 27 species was represented by the diatom species Coscinodiscus centralis and Nitzschia longissima and the dinoflagellates Tripos pulchellum and Prorocentrum micans and the cianobacteria Trichodesmium thiebautii. The richness, abundance of phytoplankton and chlorophyll a concentration were higher in pre-disturbance (29 august) and lower at the beginning of the post-disturbance (02 september), as a consequence of hurricane Ike (category 4). 84 zooplanktonic were identified; the copepods were the dominant group represented by Agetus typicus, Calocalanus pavo, Clausocalanus arcuicornis, Farranula gracilis, Macrosetella gracilis, Microsetella rosea, Nannocalanus minor and Oncaea venusta, followed in importance by the appendicularsians Oikopleura (C.) longicauda and O. (C.) fusiformis. The maximum value of zooplankton numerical abundance (1740 ind/m3) occurred during the pre-disturbance, while the zooplankton richness and biomass (54 mg/m3) were higher in the post-disturbance. Variation in the composition, richness, abundance and biomass of the plankton species on island of Aves during the hurricane season is regulated by the cyclical presence of tropical disturbances that occur on the island.
