The Arctic Jellies (ARJEL) project: Investigating the impact of gelatinous zooplankton communities on changing Arctic ecosystems

Abstract

Gelatinous zooplankton are known to be major drivers of ecosystem changes. Increases in jelly biomass, referred to as “jellification”, have been observed in several marine ecosystems, causing, amongst others, the collapse of major fisheries. For the Arctic region, abundance data on jellies are virtually non-existent, impeding our ability to detect changes of a similar magnitude. To better understand the role of jellies in the Arctic seas, the Helmholtz Young Investigator project ARJEL (2019-2025), will combine the most recent technologies in optics, acoustics, and environmental DNA analyses. Integrative field surveys will allow us to link distributional patterns of jellies to sea-ice and oceanographic features. Furthermore, we will apply species distribution models to a broader set of archived data to understand observed species patterns and to predict changes under future scenarios. The role of jellies in the Arctic food web, their importance for higher trophic levels and their link to the sea-ice trophic pathway will be elucidated with metabarcoding and biomarker studies. Physiological and transcriptomic studies serve to predict range expansions, and consequences of expansion will be predicted based on food web models. An overview of the goals and methods planned will be given with scope for collaborations