Abstract:In order to understand the impact of Litopenaeus vannamei culture on the community structure of metazooplankton in ponds, 16 surveys were conducted in an aquaculture farm and its outer channels in Fengxian District, Shanghai from early May to early October in 2021. Metazooplankton species composition and dominant species, density, biomass and biodiversity were analyzed. A total of 33 metazooplankton species (including 23 species of Rotifers, 6 species of Cladoceras, and 4 species of Copepods) were identified in the study. Among them, Polyarthra trigla and Mesocyclops leuckarti were the common dominant species in both aquaculture ponds and outer channels. Jaccard similarity analysis indicated that the species composition of metazooplankton in aquaculture ponds and outer channels were moderately similar. Generally speaking, the density, biomass, dominant species and diversity index of metazooplankton were higher in aquaculture ponds than those in outer channels. The mean values of Shannon-Wiener diversity index H' were 1.56±0.48 and 1.55±0.34 in aquaculture ponds and outer channels, respectively, which showed moderate pollution, and the mean values of Gleason-Margalef species richness index D were 0.81±0.32 and 0.76±0.33, respectively, which showed heavy pollution; Aquaculture ponds were at middle eutrophic level, while outer channels were at light eutrophic level. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the metazooplankton community structure in aquaculture ponds was significantly correlated with Water Temperature(WT), Total Nitrogen(TN), Total Phosphorus(TP), Permanganate index(COD)and phytoplankton(Cryptophyta),while the outer channels metazooplankton community distribution were significantly correlated with WT, Dissolved Oxygen(DO), Chlorophylla(Chl.a), COD, Suspended Solids(SS)and phytoplankton(Cryptophyta, Euglena and Dinophyta)Correlation. Redundancy analysis(RDA)showed that TP and COD were the key factors affecting the metazooplankton community structure in Litopenaeus vannamei aquaculture ponds. Phytoplankton(Cryptoplankton), DO, and TN were the main environmental factors that affected the metazooplankton community in outer channels. The results show that the environmental factors in Litopenaeus vannamei aquaculture ponds have significant impacts on the community structure of metazooplankton, which is obviously different from the influence of environmental factors on the community structure of metazooplankton in outer channels. It reveals that the shrimp aquaculture production will significantly change the community structure of metazooplankton in aquaculture ponds compared to natural water, which is of great significance to the ecological aquaculture of Litopenaeus vannamei and the regulation of water quality.