Abundance and Structure of the Zooplankton Community During a Post-eruptive Process: The Case of the Submarine Volcano Tagoro (El Hierro; Canary Islands), 2013-2018

The mesozooplankton community was analyzed over a 6-year period (2013-2018) during the post-eruptive stage of the submarine volcano Tagoro, located south of the island of El Hierro (Canary Archipelago, Spain). Nine cruises from March 2013 to March 2018 were carried out in two different seasons, spring (March-April) and autumn (October). A high-resolution study was carried out across the main cones of Tagoro volcano, as well as a large number of reference stations surrounding El Hierro (unaffected by the volcano). The zooplankton community at the reference stations showed a high similarity with more than 85% of the variation in abundance and composition attributable to seasonal differences. Moreover, our data showed an increase in zooplankton abundance in waters affected by the volcano with a higher presence of non-calanoid copepods and a decline in the diversity of the copepod community, indicating that volcanic inputs have a significant effect on these organisms. Fourteen different zooplankton groups were found but copepods were dominant (79%) with 59 genera and 170 species identified. Despite the high species number, less than 30 presented a larger abundance than 1%. Oncaea and Clausocalanus were the most abundant genera followed by Oithona and Paracalanus (60%). Nine species dominated (>2%): O. media, O. plumifera, and O. setigera among the non-calanoids and M. clausi, P. nanus, P. parvus, C. furcatus, C. arcuicornis, and N. minor among the calanoids. After the initial low abundance of the copepods as a consequence of the eruption, an increase was observed in the last years of the study, where besides the small Paracalanus and Clausocalanus, the Cyclopoids seem to have a good adaptive strategy to the new water conditions. The increase in zooplankton abundance and the decline in the copepod diversity in the area affected by the volcano indicate that important changes in the composition of the zooplankton community have occurred. The effect of the volcanic emissions on the different copepods was more evident in spring when the water was cooler and the mixing layer was deeper. Further and longer research is recommended to monitor the zooplankton community in the natural laboratory of the Tagoro submarine volcano.

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Zooplankton Community Response to Seasonal Hypoxia: A Test of Three Hypotheses

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d12010021 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 21 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Julie E. Keister ◽

Amanda K. Winans ◽

BethElLee Herrmann

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Puget Sound ◽

Temporal Stability ◽

Zooplankton Community ◽

Community Response ◽

Crustacean Zooplankton ◽

Zooplankton Abundance ◽

Calanoid Copepods ◽

Low Oxygen ◽

Seasonal Hypoxia

Several hypotheses of how zooplankton communities respond to coastal hypoxia have been put forward in the literature over the past few decades. We explored three of those that are focused on how zooplankton composition or biomass is affected by seasonal hypoxia using data collected over two summers in Hood Canal, a seasonally-hypoxic sub-basin of Puget Sound, Washington. We conducted hydrographic profiles and zooplankton net tows at four stations, from a region in the south that annually experiences moderate hypoxia to a region in the north where oxygen remains above hypoxic levels. The specific hypotheses tested were that low oxygen leads to: (1) increased dominance of gelatinous relative to crustacean zooplankton, (2) increased dominance of cyclopoid copepods relative to calanoid copepods, and (3) overall decreased zooplankton abundance and biomass at hypoxic sites compared to where oxygen levels are high. Additionally, we examined whether the temporal stability of community structure was decreased by hypoxia. We found evidence of a shift toward more gelatinous zooplankton and lower total zooplankton abundance and biomass at hypoxic sites, but no clear increase in the dominance of cyclopoid relative to calanoid copepods. We also found the lowest variance in community structure at the most hypoxic site, in contrast to our prediction. Hypoxia can fundamentally alter marine ecosystems, but the impacts differ among systems.

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Changes in abundance and composition of a Caribbean coral reef zooplankton community after 25 years

Revista de Biología Tropical ◽

10.15517/rbt.v64i3.21449 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 64 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Allan Martin Carrillo Baltodano ◽

Álvaro Morales Ramírez

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Zooplankton Community ◽

Zooplankton Abundance ◽

Calanoid Copepods ◽

The Past ◽

Coral Reef Resilience ◽

Caribbean Coral Reef ◽

Important Food Source ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Trophic Models

Coral reef zooplankton represents a key community in coral ecosystems, as they are involved in trophic and biogeochemical dynamics, and recruitment processes. Zooplankton abundance, composition and biomass were surveyed at six stations within the coral reef at Cahuita National Park, Limon, Costa Rica, in order to compare with the only previous study conducted during 1984. Samples were collected monthly (September 2010-August 2011). Seston biomass (0.49-85.87 mg/m3) and total abundance (1 145-112 422 ind./m3) fluctuated among the months and the stations. Higher values of these two variables were found in the rainiest months (November 2010 and May 2011). A total of 38 taxa were identified, of which calanoid copepods abundance dominated year round (66 %), followed by appendicularians (12 %). Zooplankton mean abundance in this survey resulted 20 times higher (13 184 ± 4 104 ind./m3)than in 1984 (645 ± 84 ind./m3). Copepods and appendicularians were the groups that differed the most, relative to the 1984 study, resulting in 63 and 170 times more abundant overall, respectively. An increase in terrestrial runoff and nutrient input during the past 30 years could explain these differences. High abundances of zooplankton may constitute an important food source for coral reef organisms in Cahuita ecosystem. In addition, zooplankton abundances here reported for Cahuita are among the worldwide highest coral reef zooplankton abundances, and further trophic models can help elucidate its role in coral reef resilience in the Caribbean Coast of Central America.

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Short-term changes in the mesozooplankton community and copepod gut pigment in the Chukchi Sea in autumn: reflections of a strong wind event

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-12-4005-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 12 (13) ◽

pp. 4005-4015 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

K. Matsuno ◽

A. Yamaguchi ◽

S. Nishino ◽

J. Inoue ◽

T. Kikuchi

Keyword(s):

Atmospheric Turbulence ◽

Chukchi Sea ◽

Strong Wind ◽

Calanoid Copepods ◽

Mesozooplankton Community ◽

Chl A ◽

Wind Event ◽

Food Requirement ◽

Copepodid Stage ◽

Gut Pigment

Abstract. To evaluate the effect of atmospheric turbulence on a marine ecosystem, high-frequency samplings (two to four times per day) of a mesozooplankton community and the gut pigment of dominant copepods were performed at a fixed station in the Chukchi Sea from 10 to 25 September 2013. During the study period, a strong wind event (SWE) was observed on 18 September. After the SWE, the biomass of chlorophyll a (Chl a) increased, especially for micro-size (> 10 μm) fractions. The zooplankton abundance ranged from 23 610 to 56 809 ind. m−2 and exhibited no clear changes as a result of the SWE. In terms of abundance, calanoid copepods constituted the dominant taxa (mean: 57 %), followed by barnacle larvae (31 %). Within the calanoid copepods, small-sized Pseudocalanus spp. (65 %) and large-sized C. glacialis (30 %) dominated. In the population structure of C. glacialis, copepodid stage 5 (C5) dominated, and the mean copepodid stage did not vary with the SWE. The dominance of accumulated lipids in C5 and C6 females with immature gonads indicated that they were preparing for seasonal diapause. The gut pigment of C. glacialis C5 was higher at night and was correlated with ambient Chl a (Chl a, and a significant increase was observed after the SWE (2.6 vs. 4.5 ng pigment ind.−1). The grazing impact by C. glacialis C5 was estimated to be 4.14 mg C m−2 day−1, which corresponded to 0.5−4.6 % of the biomass of the micro-size phytoplankton. Compared with the metabolic food requirement, C. glacialis feeding on phytoplankton accounted for 12.6 % of their total food requirement. These facts suggest that C. glacialis could not maintain their population by feeding solely on phytoplankton and that other food sources (i.e., microzooplankton) must be important in autumn. As observed by the increase in gut pigment, the temporal phytoplankton bloom, which is enhanced by the atmospheric turbulence (SWE) in autumn, may have a positive effect on copepod nutrition.

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The holoplankton of the Santa Catarina coast, southern Brazil

Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências ◽

10.1590/s0001-37652011000200017 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 83 (2) ◽

pp. 575-588 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Charrid Resgalla Jr

Keyword(s):

Coastal Waters ◽

Zooplankton Community ◽

The State ◽

Zooplankton Abundance ◽

Santa Catarina ◽

The North ◽

Or Groups ◽

Parvocalanus Crassirostris ◽

Water Species ◽

Potential Use

This paper presents information from different sampling surveys carried out along the Santa Catarina coast in order to outline the biogeographical characteristics of the zooplankton in this region and identify species or groups of species with potential use as bioindicators. Based on a checklist of species of the zooplankton community in the state, it was observed that, in the warmer months of the year, the fauna is similar to that of the states of Paraná and São Paulo (e.g. Creseis virgula f. virgula, Penilia avirostris; Acartia lilljeborgi and Oithona oswaldocruzi), while in the colder months there are coastal representatives of the fauna of Rio Grande do Sul (e.g. Acartia tonsa). However, the zooplankton consists predominantly of warm water species for most of the year, which is typical of Tropical Shelf Waters. Various species of zooplankton can be used as hydrological indicators, enabling a distinction to be made between coastal waters which are influenced by continental inputs (e.g. Paracalanus quasimodo and Parvocalanus crassirostris), common in the north of the state, and processes of upwelling (e.g. Podon intermedius) and the influence of the Subtropical Shelf Front (e.g. Pleopis polyphemoides), coming from the south. The different environments investigated present a zooplankton abundance that depends on the influence of continental inputs and the possibility of their retaining and contribution for the coastal enrichment, which varies seasonally

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Implications of a regional-scale process (the Lakshadweep low) on the mesozooplankton community structure of the Arabian Sea

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf17238 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 70 (3) ◽

pp. 345 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

K. K. Karati ◽

G. Vineetha ◽

T. V. Raveendran ◽

P. K. Dineshkumar ◽

K. R. Muraleedharan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Process ◽

Arabian Sea ◽

Mixed Layer Depth ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Zooplankton Community ◽

Ocean Basin ◽

Zooplankton Biomass ◽

Global Ocean ◽

Mesozooplankton Community ◽

Tropical Ocean

The Arabian Sea, a major tropical ocean basin in the northern Indian Ocean, is one of the most productive regions in the global ocean. Although the classical Arabian Sea ‘paradox’ describes the geographical and seasonal invariability in zooplankton biomass in this region, the effect of the Lakshadweep low (LL), a regional-scale physical process, on the zooplankton community has not yet been evaluated. The LL, characterised by low sea surface height and originating around the vicinity of the Lakshadweep islands during the mid-summer monsoon, is unique to the Arabian Sea. The present study investigated the effect of the LL on the zooplankton community. The LL clearly had a positive effect, with enhanced biomass and abundance in the mixed-layer depth of the LL region. Copepods and chaetognaths formed the dominant taxa, exhibiting strong affinity towards the physical process. Of the 67 copepod species observed, small copepods belonging to the families Paracalanidae, Clausocalanidae, Calanidae, Oncaeidae and Corycaeidae dominated the LL region. Phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll-a) was the primary determinant influencing the higher preponderance of the copepod community in this region.

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ZOOPLANKTON SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE IN BANGGAI SEA

Jurnal Ilmu dan Teknologi Kelautan Tropis ◽

10.28930/jitkt.v4i2.7787 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Arief Rachman ◽

Elly Asniariati

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Community Structure ◽

Hot Spot ◽

Zooplankton Community ◽

Anthropogenic Activity ◽

Zooplankton Abundance ◽

Total Density ◽

Importance Value ◽

Zooplankton Community Structure ◽

Specific Distribution

<p>Banggai Sea is an interesting ecosystem due to mixing influences from Banda Sea in the west and Maluccas Sea in the east. Therefore, a unique zooplankton community structure and specific distribution pattern should be found in this area. This research was carried on using Baruna Jaya VIII research vessel and samples were collected in 14 sampling stations. Vertical towing using NORPAC plankton net (300 μm) was conducted to collect zooplankton samples. Result showed that inner Mesamat Bay had the lowest abundance of zooplankton, probably due to low water quality resulted from anthropogenic activity. Meanwhile the strait between Liang and Labobo Island had the highest zooplankton abundance in Banggai Sea. Calanoids was the dominant zooplankton taxa in the ecosystem and contributing 55.7% of total density of zooplankton community. The highest importance value made this taxa to be very important factor that regulates the lower trophic level organisms. Results also showed that zooplankton was distributed nearly uniform in eastern but aggregated to several stations in western Banggai Sea. Zooplankton abundance was higher in the central of Banggai Sea, compared to western and eastern area. According to Bray-Curtis clustering analysis the strait between Liang and Labobo Island has unique zooplankton community structure. This might happened due to mixing of water from two highly productive seas that influenced the Banggai Sea ecosystem. From this research we conclude that this strait probably was the zooplankton hot spot area which might also indicate that this area also a hot spot of fishes in the Banggai Sea.</p><p>Keywords: spatial distribution, zooplankton, community structure, hot spot, Banggai</p>

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Zooplankton community dynamics and environmental factors in Lake Ozeros (Greece)

Mediterranean Marine Science ◽

10.12681/mms.534 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 32 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

E. CHALKIA ◽

G. KEHAYIAS

Keyword(s):

Community Dynamics ◽

Zooplankton Community ◽

Trophic State Index ◽

Zooplankton Abundance ◽

The Novel ◽

Effective Management ◽

Eutrophic Lakes ◽

State Index ◽

The Mean ◽

One Year

A one year investigation of the zooplankton community composition and dynamics in Lake Οzeros (western Greece) revealed 25 invertebrate species (16 rotifers, three copepods, five cladocerans and one mollusc larva). The mean zooplankton abundance fluctuated between 59.4 to 818 ind l-1, having maximum values in spring. The species composition and seasonal variation do not differentiate Lake Ozeros from the nearby lakes. The presence of the dominant calanoid copepod Eudiaptomus drieschi and some of the rotifer species recorded are characteristics of either oligo- or eutrophic lakes. According to the trophic state index (TSI) Lake Ozeros is a meso-eutrophic ecosystem, in which the eutrophic character was possibly the result of the high charge with phosphorus (being raised by 28.9 % in comparison to previous decades), which came into the lake via the surrounding agricultural cultivations and mainly the pig-raising activities. In contrast, the concentrations of ΝΟ3, ΝΟ2 and NH4 have considerably decreased possibly due to the termination of the tobacco cultivations around the lake during the last years. The novel information on the abiotic and especially the biotic elements of Lake Ozeros provided by the present study can contribute to the effective management of this aquatic ecosystem in the future.

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Zooplankton in seagrass and adjacent non-seagrass habitats in Tun Mustapha Park, Sabah, Malaysia

Borneo Journal of Marine Science and Aquaculture (BJoMSA) ◽

10.51200/bjomsa.v4i1.1747 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 6-13

Author(s):

Sing Lui Lo ◽

Tzuen Kiat Yap ◽

Cheng Ann Chen ◽

Teruaki Yoshida

Keyword(s):

Environmental Variables ◽

Statistical Difference ◽

Structural Complexity ◽

Zooplankton Community ◽

Small Scale ◽

Zooplankton Abundance ◽

Seagrass Bed ◽

Seagrass Meadows ◽

Marine Park ◽

Study Sites

A comparison of zooplankton abundance and community in the seagrass and non-seagrass areas of Limau-limauan and Bak- Bak waters within the newly established Tun Mustapha Marine Park was made during 15-17 May 2017. Samples were collected via horizontal tow of a 140 μm plankton net. Environmental variables (temperature, salinity, DO, pH, turbidity) showed no significant differences among the study sites. However, zooplankton showed increasing abundance from non-seagrass, seagrass edge, to seagrass areas at Limau-limauan, while abundance values were comparable among the stations at Bak-bak. Overall zooplankton abundance was significantly higher at the seagrass areas relative to the non-seagrass station at Limau-limauan (p < 0.005), while no statistical difference was found at Bak-Bak (p < 0.21). Mean canopy height was 3-fold higher (p < 0.001) at Limau-limauan than Bak-Bak, suggesting the importance of seagrass bed structural complexity in habitat preference for zooplankton. Cluster analysis revealed the zooplankton community from the seagrass area at Limau-limauan was different from that at seagrass edge and non-seagrass areas, which may be attributed to the influence of seagrass meadows in forming characteristic zooplankton compositions. Marked differences in zooplankton composition and abundance even in close vicinity of sites suggest the importance of local small-scale variations in seagrass habitats in shaping the zooplankton community.

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Dead zone or oasis in the open ocean? Zooplankton distribution and migration in low-oxygen modewater eddies

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-13-1977-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 1977-1989 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Helena Hauss ◽

Svenja Christiansen ◽

Florian Schütte ◽

Rainer Kiko ◽

Miryam Edvam Lima ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Surface Layer ◽

Dead Zone ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Zooplankton Abundance ◽

Depth Range ◽

Calanoid Copepods ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Low Oxygen ◽

Oxygen Concentrations ◽

Ocean Deoxygenation

Abstract. The eastern tropical North Atlantic (ETNA) features a mesopelagic oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) at approximately 300–600 m depth. Here, oxygen concentrations rarely fall below 40 µmol O2 kg−1, but are expected to decline under future projections of global warming. The recent discovery of mesoscale eddies that harbour a shallow suboxic (< 5 µmol O2 kg−1) OMZ just below the mixed layer could serve to identify zooplankton groups that may be negatively or positively affected by ongoing ocean deoxygenation. In spring 2014, a detailed survey of a suboxic anticyclonic modewater eddy (ACME) was carried out near the Cape Verde Ocean Observatory (CVOO), combining acoustic and optical profiling methods with stratified multinet hauls and hydrography. The multinet data revealed that the eddy was characterized by an approximately 1.5-fold increase in total area-integrated zooplankton abundance. At nighttime, when a large proportion of acoustic scatterers is ascending into the upper 150 m, a drastic reduction in mean volume backscattering (Sv) at 75 kHz (shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler, ADCP) within the shallow OMZ of the eddy was evident compared to the nighttime distribution outside the eddy. Acoustic scatterers avoided the depth range between approximately 85 to 120 m, where oxygen concentrations were lower than approximately 20 µmol O2 kg−1, indicating habitat compression to the oxygenated surface layer. This observation is confirmed by time series observations of a moored ADCP (upward looking, 300 kHz) during an ACME transit at the CVOO mooring in 2010. Nevertheless, part of the diurnal vertical migration (DVM) from the surface layer to the mesopelagic continued through the shallow OMZ. Based upon vertically stratified multinet hauls, Underwater Vision Profiler (UVP5) and ADCP data, four strategies followed by zooplankton in response to in response to the eddy OMZ have been identified: (i) shallow OMZ avoidance and compression at the surface (e.g. most calanoid copepods, euphausiids); (ii) migration to the shallow OMZ core during daytime, but paying O2 debt at the surface at nighttime (e.g. siphonophores, Oncaea spp., eucalanoid copepods); (iii) residing in the shallow OMZ day and night (e.g. ostracods, polychaetes); and (iv) DVM through the shallow OMZ from deeper oxygenated depths to the surface and back. For strategy (i), (ii) and (iv), compression of the habitable volume in the surface may increase prey–predator encounter rates, rendering zooplankton and micronekton more vulnerable to predation and potentially making the eddy surface a foraging hotspot for higher trophic levels. With respect to long-term effects of ocean deoxygenation, we expect avoidance of the mesopelagic OMZ to set in if oxygen levels decline below approximately 20 µmol O2 kg−1. This may result in a positive feedback on the OMZ oxygen consumption rates, since zooplankton and micronekton respiration within the OMZ as well as active flux of dissolved and particulate organic matter into the OMZ will decline.

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Environmental drivers of a decline in a coastal zooplankton community

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsab177 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Seòna R Wells ◽

Eileen Bresnan ◽

Kathryn Cook ◽

Dafne Eerkes-Medrano ◽

Margarita Machairopoulou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Zooplankton Community ◽

Water Masses ◽

Environmental Drivers ◽

High Temporal Resolution ◽

Monitoring Site ◽

Zooplankton Abundance ◽

Offshore Water ◽

Additive Mixed Models ◽

Zooplankton Communities

Abstract Major changes in North Atlantic zooplankton communities in recent decades have been linked to climate change but the roles of environmental drivers are often complex. High temporal resolution data is required to disentangle the natural seasonal drivers from additional sources of variability in highly heterogeneous marine systems. Here, physical and plankton abundance data spanning 2003–2017 from a weekly long-term monitoring site on the west coast of Scotland were used to investigate the cause of an increasing decline to approximately -80± 5% in annual average total zooplankton abundance from 2011 to 2017. Generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs), with an autoregressive correlation structure, were used to examine seasonal and inter-annual trends in zooplankton abundance and their relationship with environmental variables. Substantial declines were detected across all dominant taxa, with ∼ 30–70% of the declines in abundance explained by a concurrent negative trend in salinity, alongside the seasonal cycle, with the additional significance of food availability found for some taxa. Temperature was found to drive seasonal variation but not the long-term trends in the zooplankton community. The reduction in salinity had the largest effect on several important taxa. Salinity changes could partly be explained by locally higher freshwater run-off driven by precipitation as well as potential links to changes in offshore water masses. The results highlight that changes in salinity, caused by either freshwater input (expected from climate predictions) or fresher offshore water masses, may adversely impact coastal zooplankton communities and the predators that depend on them.

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