Summer mesozooplankton structure in the Pechora Sea (south-eastern Barents Sea)

Mesozooplankton composition and distribution were investigated by Juday net hauls in the Pechora Sea (south-eastern Barents Sea) in July 2001. A total of 66 taxa were identified. The total mesozooplankton abundance varied between 2416 ind m⁻² in the northern part and 1458?935 ind m⁻² in the south. The biomass ranged between 81 and 19?078 mg DW m⁻². Three groups differed greatly in composition, abundance and biomass as delineated by cluster analysis. Copepod species Calanus finmarchicus, Pseudocalanus species and Limnocalanus macrurus dominated in terms of the total biomass within each single cluster. There were significant Spearman rank correlations between mesozooplankton abundance and oceanographic variables, and phytoplankton concentration. Salinity was the main factor affecting the mesozooplankton distribution in the coastal waters, while temperature had greater influence on the abundance and biomass in the central and northern parts. The mean mesozooplankton biomass in the region was higher in comparison with some previous investigations probably due to higher water temperature in summer 2001.     

Distribution of the plankton assemblages during the winter and summer along the southern coast of the Kerkennah Islands (Tunisia,Eastern Mediterranean Sea)

We studied the distribution of microphytoplankton, ciliates and mesozooplankton in relation to environmental factors in the coastal waters around the Kerkennah Islands. Diatom species were more abundant in winter, representing 74% of the total microphytoplankton abundance, whereas dinoflagellate abundance was higher in summer (58%). Naked ciliates dominated during the winter (73%) and loricate ciliates dominated during the summer (67%). Copepods were the most abundant mesozooplankton group present during the entire period of study, comprising 93%–98% of the total mesozooplankton community. The results indicate that (i) species distribution differed significantly between winter and summer, (ii) environmental factors such as temperature, salinity and nutrients influenced plankton assemblages; and (iii) the highest abundance of several pollution indicator species was due to direct exposure to the polluted coast of Sfax and the effect of tidal asymmetries generating nutrient‐rich inputs from the city.     

Latitudinal changes in siphonophore assemblages across the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean

Siphonophores are commonly considered to be useful indicators of water masses and water-mass movement, but their employment as such across the wider Southern Ocean has not so far been attempted. We redress this here using archived samples, collected during January–February 1993 along a transect from Cape Town to the South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE) base in Antarctica, and compare the patterns generated with those determined from a prior analysis of whole assemblages at lower taxonomic resolution. Twenty-one species were identified from 18 of the original 53 samples collected, and two distinct assemblages were confirmed as separated by the Sub-Antarctic Front. That to the south was characterised by low diversity and high abundance and was dominated by cold-water specialists, whereas that to the north comprised a larger number of subtropical and temperate species at low abundance. Assemblage structure was strongly influenced by the mixed layer depth, sea surface salinity and chlorophyll a concentration, as well as mesozooplankton biomass. Congruence with the whole-assemblage study was high, indicating that this taxon can be suitably employed as a proxy in studies such as this. The study emphasises the value of archived plankton samples and makes a plea for better curation.     

Climate variability and planktonic communities: The effect of an extreme event (severe drought) in a southern European estuary

As a consequence of climate change, flood and drought events are increasing in frequency throughout the world. Nevertheless, knowledge of the effects on zooplankton estuarine communities is still scarce. The present study aimed to examine zooplankton ecology over two contrasting environmental conditions: regular years and extreme dry years, in a shallow temperate southern European estuary, the Mondego Estuary (Portugal). Monthly samples were carried out during three consecutive years: 2003 characterized as a regular temperate year concerning precipitation and river flow, and an extremely dry period during 2004–2005. The spatial and temporal structure of the biological data was evaluated by a three-mode principal component analysis (PCA), which allowed us to distinguish three distinct ecological areas based on their biological composition and their relationship with hydrologic parameters. The severe drought in 2004–2005 was responsible for spatial shifts in the estuary regarding zooplankton community and interannual variability, with an increase in abundance and diversity during the period of low freshwater flow. This freshwater flow regime influenced the composition of the zooplankton community at the most upstream section of Mondego estuary (zone 3), with a replacement of the freshwater community by one predominantly dominated by estuarine organisms. The occurrence of such estuarine community contributed to the increase in zooplankton abundance which is ascribed to the estuarine species Acartia tonsa. The comparison with previous data obtained for this estuarine ecosystem, demonstrated the occurrence of a different scenario at times of high freshwater flow, being defined the existence of two sub-estuarine systems, the north and south arm, presenting the south one the highest values of abundance.     

Seasonal community structure of mesozooplankton in the Daya Bay, South China Sea

Mesozooplankton are key components of coastal ecosystems, linking the microbial food web to the classic food chain. In this study, species composition and abundance of mesozooplankton is studied for the Daya Bay in April (spring) and October (fall), 2006. A total of 27 species of mesozooplankton were identified in spring and 58 species in fall. Dominant species were Oithona tenuis, Flaccisagitta enflata, Penilia avirostris and Centropages tenuiremis in spring, shifting to Microsetella norvegica, Oithona tenuis and Parvocalanus crassirostris in fall. Higher mesozooplankton abundance was found at Aotou Cove and Dapeng’ao Cove compared to other stations, indicating the influence of eutrophication on mesozooplankton community in the Daya Bay. The outbreak of Noctiluca scintillans bloom in spring reduced the species diversity and abundance of mesozooplankton.     

Spring dominant copepods and their distribution pattern in the yellow sea

We investigated the relationship between mesoscale spatial distribution of environmental parameters (temperature, salinity, and sigma-t), chlorophyll-a concentration and mesozooplankton in the Yellow Sea during May 1996, 1997, and 1998, with special reference to Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water (YSBCW). Adult calanoid copepods,Calanus sinicus, Paracalanus parvus s.l.,Acartia omorii, andCentropages abdominalis were isolated by BVSTEP analysis based on the consistent explainable percentage (-32.3%) of the total mesozooplankton distributional pattern. The copepods, which accounted for 60 to 87% of the total abundances, occupied 73-78% of the copepod community. The YSBCW consistently remained in the northern part of the study area and influenced the spatial distribution of the calanoid copepods during the study periods. Abundances of C.sinicus andP. parvus s.l., which were high outside the YSBCW, were positively correlated with the whole water average temperature (p<0.01). In contrast, the abundances of C.abdominalis andA. omorii, which were relatively high in the YSBCW, were associated with the integrated chl-a concentration based on factor analysis. These results indicate that the YSBCW influenced the mesoscale spatial heterogeneity of average temperature and integrated chl-a concentration through the water column. This consequently affected the spatial distribution pattern of the dominant copepods in association with their respective preferences for environmental and biological parameters in the Yellow Sea during spring.     

Plankton community diversity from bacteria to copepods in bloom and non-bloom conditions in the Celtic Sea in spring

The plankton community composition comprising heterotrophic bacteria, pro-/eukaryotes, heterotrophic nanoflagellates, microzooplankton and mesozooplankton was assessed during the spring bloom and at non-bloom stations in the English Channel and Celtic Sea between 6 and 12 April 2002. Non-bloom sites were characterised by a dominance of pro-/eukaryotic phytoplankton <20 μm, higher abundance of heterotrophic nanoflagellates, microzooplankton standing stocks ranging between 60 and 380 mg C m⁻², lower mesozooplankton diversity and copepod abundance of between 760 and 2600 ind m⁻³. Within the bloom, the phytoplankton community was typically dominated by larger cells with low abundance of pro-/eukaryotes. Heterotrophic nanoflagellate cell bio-volume decreased leading to a reduction in biomass whereas microzooplankton biomass increased (360–1500 mg C m⁻²) due to an increase in cell bio-volume and copepod abundance ranged between 1400 and 3800 ind m⁻³. Mesozooplankton diversity increased with an increase in productivity. Relationships between the plankton community and environmental data were examined using multivariate statistics and these highlighted significant differences in the abiotic variables, the pro-/eukaryotic phytoplankton communities, heterotrophic nanoflagellate, microzooplankton and total zooplankton communities between the bloom and non-bloom sites. The variables which best described variation in the microzooplankton community were temperature and silicate. The spatial variation in zooplankton diversity was best explained by temperature. This study provides an insight into the changes that occur between trophic levels within the plankton in response to the spring bloom in this area.     

Grazing by meso- and microzooplankton on phytoplankton in the upper reaches of the Schelde estuary (Belgium/The Netherlands)

In contrast with the marine reaches of estuaries, few studies have dealt with zooplankton grazing on phytoplankton in the upper estuarine reaches, where freshwater zooplankton species tend to dominate the zooplankton community. In spring and early summer 2003, grazing by micro- and mesozooplankton on phytoplankton was investigated at three sites in the upper Schelde estuary. Grazing by mesozooplankton was evaluated by monitoring growth of phytoplankton in 200 μm filtered water in the presence or absence of mesozooplankton. In different experiments, the grazing impact was tested of the calanoïd copepod Eurytemora affinis, the cyclopoid copepods Acanthocyclops robustus and Cyclops vicinus and the cladocera Chydorus sphaericus, Moina affinis and Daphnia magna/pulex. No significant grazing impact of mesozooplankton in any experiment was found despite the fact that mesozooplankton densities used in the experiments (20 or 40 ind. l⁻¹) were higher than densities in the field (0.1–6.9 ind. l⁻¹). Grazing by microzooplankton was evaluated by comparing growth of phytoplankton in 30 and 200 μm filtered water. Microzooplankton in the 30–200 μm size range included mainly rotifers of the genera Brachionus, Trichocerca and Synchaeta, which were present from 191 to 1777 ind. l⁻¹. Microzooplankton had a significant grazing impact in five out of six experiments. They had a community grazing rate of 0.41–1.83 day⁻¹ and grazed up to 84% of initial phytoplankton standing stock per day. Rotifer clearance rates estimated from microzooplankton community grazing rates and rotifer abundances varied from 8.3 to 41.7 μl ind.⁻¹ h⁻¹. CHEMTAX analysis of accessory pigment data revealed a similar phytoplankton community composition after incubation with and without microzooplankton, indicating non-selective feeding by rotifers on phytoplankton.     

大亚湾中型浮游动物群落结构和植食性

本文以中型浮游动物成体为研究对象,通过在大亚湾实验站附近一个采样点连续两年的野外调查和现场摄食实验,分析大亚湾近岸富营养化海域中型浮游动物的群落特征,及其对浮游植物的选择摄食特性。结果表明:2015—2017年实验站附近中型浮游动物的总丰度在冬季达到最高,其次为春、秋和夏季;其优势种大多是滤食性桡足类,如锥形宽水蚤(Temora turbinata)、中华哲水蚤(Calanus sinicus)等,中型浮游动物的摄食特性与优势种摄食行为有很大的相关性。中型浮游动物群落更偏好于粒径较大的小型浮游植物(20—200μm),而对微型(2—20μm)或超微型浮游植物(0.7—2μm)的摄食影响较小,甚至会因为选择性摄食对这两种类型的浮游植物的生长有间接促进作用。且中型浮游动物的摄食选择性具有明显的季节性,除每个季节均倾向于摄食甲藻和青绿藻。除此之外,在春季偏好于定鞭藻和隐藻,夏季偏好于定鞭藻和绿藻,秋季偏好于硅藻、隐藻和聚球藻。尽管硅藻的生物量在调查期间平均约占总浮游植物类群的50%,但是中型浮游动物并不主动摄食硅藻,而更偏爱生物量低但营养较高的甲藻。总体上,中型浮游动物虽然对浮游植物有一定的摄食,但其植食性较弱,不能对浮游植物的生物量进行有效控制。