Seasonal development of Calanus finmarchicus in relation to phytoplankton bloom dynamics in the Norwegian Sea

Seasonal development of Calanus finmarchicus was studied in relation to the physical environment and phytoplankton bloom dynamics in the Norwegian Sea during eight basin-scale surveys from March to August 1995. Our main objective was to gain new knowledge about the life cycle of C. finmarchicus and its adaptation to the physical and biological environment of the Norwegian Sea. Time of spawning, estimated by temperature-dependent back-calculations from the occurrences of copepodite stage 1 (CIs), varied by water mass and occurred mainly during the phytoplankton pre-bloom and bloom periods. Recruitment to CI of the year's first generation (G1) generally occurred during the bloom and late bloom. The seasonal development of C. finmarchicus was progressively delayed from Coastal to Atlantic and to Arctic water, and from south to north within Atlantic and Arctic waters. This delay was partly linked to the phytoplankton bloom development that followed the same pattern, but development of C. finmarchicus also showed an increasing tendency to lag behind the phytoplankton development in colder waters. This may explain why C. finmarchicus are less successful in colder water. The consumption of nitrate was used as proxy for the seasonal history of phytoplankton development to aid interpretation of the lifecycle of C. finmarchicus. This approach allows us to align phytoplankton bloom and copepod development sequences despite temporal and geographical variation in bloom development, which otherwise tend to cause variability in quasi-synoptic and large-scale data. Two generations of C. finmarchicus were found in southern and northern regions of Coastal Water, and in southern Atlantic Water. In northern Atlantic Water and in Arctic Water, one generation was observed.     

Oligocene to Lower Pliocene deposits of the Norwegian continental shelf,Norwegian Sea,Svalbard, Denmark and their relation to the uplift of Fennoscandia: A synthesis

This study provides the results of the first integrated study of Oligocene–Pliocene basins around Norway.Within the study area, three main depocentres have been identified where sandy sediments accumulated throughout the Oligocene to Early Pliocene period. The depocentre in the Norwegian–Danish Basin received sediments from the southern Scandes Mountains, with a general progradation from north to south during the studied period. The depocentre in the basinal areas of the UK and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea north of 58°N received sediments from the Scotland–Shetland area. Because of the sedimentary infilling there was a gradual shallowing of the northern North Sea basin in the Oligocene and Miocene. A smaller depocentre is identified offshore northern Nordland between Ranafjorden (approximately 66°N) and Vesterålen (approximately 68°N) where the northern Scandes Mountains were the source of the Oligocene to Early Pliocene sediments. In other local depocentres along the west coast of Norway, sandy sedimentation occurred in only parts of the period. Shifts in local depocentres are indicative of changes in the paleogeography in the source areas.In the Barents Sea and south to approximately 68°N, the Oligocene to Early Pliocene section is eroded except for distal fine-grained and biogenic deposits along the western margin and on the oceanic crust. This margin was undergoing deformation in a strike-slip regime until the Eocene–Oligocene transition. The Early Oligocene sediments dated in the Vestbakken Volcanic Province and the Forlandssundet Basin represent the termination of this strike-slip regime.The change in the plate tectonic regime at the Eocene–Oligocene transition affected mainly the northern part of the study area, and was followed by a quiet tectonic period until the Middle Miocene, when large compressional dome and basin structures were formed in the Norwegian Sea. The Middle Miocene event is correlated with a relative fall in sea level in the main depocentres in the North Sea, formation of a large delta in the Viking Graben (Frigg area) and uplift of the North and South Scandes domes. In the Norwegian–Danish Basin, the Sorgenfrei-Tornquist Zone was reactivated in the Early Miocene, possibly causing a shift in the deltaic progradation towards the east. A Late Pliocene relative rise in sea level resulted in low sedimentation rates in the main depositional areas until the onset of glaciations at about 2.7 Ma when the Scandes Mountains were strongly eroded and became a major source of sediments for the Norwegian shelf, whilst the Frigg delta prograded farther to the northeast.     

Oceanic distribution and life cycle of Calanus species in the Norwegian Sea and adjacent waters

The distribution and demography of Calanus finmarchicus, C. glacialis and C. hyperboreus were studied throughout their growth season on a basin scale in the Norwegian Sea using ordination techniques and generalized additive models. The distribution and demographic data were related to the seasonal development of the phytoplankton bloom and physical characteristics of water masses. The resulting quantified relationships were related to knowledge on life cycle and adaptations of Calanus species. C. finmarchicus was the numerically dominant Calanus species in Coastal, Atlantic and Arctic waters, showing strong association with both Atlantic and Arctic waters. C. hyperboreus and C. glacialis were associated with Arctic water; however, C. glacialis was occasionally observed in the Norwegian Sea and is probably an expatriate advected into the area from various origins. Demography indicated one generation per year of C. finmarchicus, a two-year life cycle of C. hyperboreus, and both one- and two-year life cycles for C. glacialis in the water masses where they were most abundant. For the examined Calanus species, young copepodites of the new generation seemed to be tuned to the phytoplankton bloom in their main water mass. The development of C. finmarchicus was delayed in Arctic water, and mis-match between feeding stages and the phytoplankton bloom may reduce survival and reproductive success of C. finmarchicus in Arctic water. Based on low abundances of C. hyperboreus CI–III in Atlantic water and main recruitment to CI prior to the phytoplankton bloom, we suggest that reproduction of C. hyperboreus in Atlantic water is not successful.     

Structure and resilience of overwintering habitats of Calanus finmarchicus in the Eastern Norwegian Sea

Very high concentrations of overwintering Calanus finmarchicus were found in the eastern Lofoten Basin of the Norwegian Sea close to the shelf break in January 2001–2002. A coupled 3D hydrodynamic and ecological model was used to study the formation of this deep overwintering aggregation and its stability. The ecological model includes nutrients, phytoplankton and microzooplankton in addition to a stage-structured model of C. finmarchicus. Using a Eulerian approach, the model was initiated with an overwintering stock evenly distributed in the oceanic regions of the Norwegian Sea, i.e. where depths>600 m. Spawning and development of the new generation take place in response to vertical mixing and phytoplankton development. Animals are assumed to begin their descent to overwintering depths of 700–1000 m as late stage Vs. Model results show that, in late summer, high concentrations of animals were found at overwintering depths near the shelf break north of the North Sea, off the northeastern Vøring Plateau and in the eastern Lofoten Basin along the slope of the Barents Sea shelf. They remained there for months due to deep eddies and southward, deep currents along the Norwegian shelf. The simulation experiments indicate that the combined effect of deep anticyclonic circulation and vertical migration behavior of the animals may explain the high concentrations of overwintering C. finmarchicus found in field surveys in the Eastern Lofoten Basin, close to the shelf break.     

Modelling multi-species interactions in the Barents Sea ecosystem with special emphasis on minke whales and their interactions with cod, herring and capelin

The Barents Sea ecosystem, one of the most productive and commercially important ecosystems in the world, has experienced major fluctuations in species abundance the past five decades. Likely causes are natural variability, climate change, overfishing and predator–prey interactions. In this study, we use an age-length structured multi-species model (Gadget, Globally applicable Area-Disaggregated General Ecosystem Toolbox) to analyse the historic population dynamics of major fish and marine mammal species in the Barents Sea. The model was used to examine possible effects of a number of plausible biological and fisheries scenarios. The results suggest that changes in cod mortality from fishing or cod cannibalism levels have the largest effect on the ecosystem, while changes to the capelin fishery have had only minor effects. Alternate whale migration scenarios had only a moderate impact on the modelled ecosystem. Indirect effects are seen to be important, with cod fishing pressure, cod cannibalism and whale predation on cod having an indirect impact on capelin, emphasising the importance of multi-species modelling in understanding and managing ecosystems. Models such as the one presented here provide one step towards an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management.