Fine- to basin-scale distributions of Calanus finmarchicus and its predators in three deep basins of the Gulf of Maine during December 1998 and 1999 from Video Plankton Recorder (VPR) data

The calanoid copepod Calanus finmarchicus is broadly distributed in the North Atlantic, where it dominates the spring zooplankton biomass of shelf ecosystems. Calanus finmarchicus diapauses in the deep basins of the Gulf of Maine (GOM) during late-summer through early-winter. During diapause, predators that co-occur in regions of high copepod abundance may reduce survivorship through predation. Consequently it is important to measure the distribution patterns of C. finmarchicus and its predators. Two cruises were carried out during December of 1998 and 1999 in the GOM. Video Plankton Recorder (VPR) data collected in Wilkinson, Jordan and Georges Basins were used to describe the fine- to basin-scale distributions of C. finmarchicus and its predators. The locations of individual zooplanktors were mapped by towyoing a Video Plankton Recorder (VPR), mounted on the towed-body BIOMAPER-II, across the basins. Volumetric distribution patterns were estimated by interpolated abundance data using 3D Kriging. The abundance of C. finmarchicus was lower in December 1998 than in December 1999. This difference is discussed in terms of the spatial distributions and abundances of cnidarian, ctenophore, and crustacean predators. Gelatinous plankton were more abundant during December 1998 than in December 1999. Gelatinous plankton (siphonophores, ctenophores and medusae) were identified as the most aggressive taxa preying on C. finmarchicus. An inverse spatial pattern between C. finmarchicus and predators was observed in all three deep basins during December 1998, suggesting depletion of C. finmarchicus through predation. Water temperatures were generally cooler and fresher during December 1998 and warmer and saltier during December 1999. This hydrological regime changes caused by the shift between the Labrador Subarctic Slope Water and the Slope Water, respectively, seemed to affect both, C. finmarchicus and its invertebrate predators. During December 1998, C. finmarchicus was broadly distributed (0-200 m) in the water column probably due to broader distribution of cooler temperatures. During December 1999 C. finmarchicus was found below 150 m, where cooler temperatures dominated. The low C. finmarchicus abundances observed during December 1998 were possibly caused by the combined action of predation and advection losses since diapausing populations above sill depth (~200 m) are likely advected out of the system

Discovery and dynamics of a cryptic marine copepod-parasite interaction

Parasitism is increasingly recognized as a critical element of ecosystem dynamics butremains understudied due to observational limitations, especially in rapidly fluctuating marine plankton populations. We combined 3 new techniques — in situ imaging microscopy, automatedclassification, and empirical dynamic modeling — to quantify interactions between Oithona spp.and the rhizarian parasite Paradinium spp. at hourly resolution for over 1 yr in the Southern California Bight. We investigate the time scales, host population effects, and potential environmental drivers of infection. Our study suggests that Paradinium spp. is consistently present in the local copepod population at low levels throughout the year and that the parasite exerts control on the host population on a 22-23 d lag — a delay consistent with known Oithona spp. generation times. The interaction strength was pronounced at higher temperatures, suggesting that Paradinium spp. will have a significant role in local ecosystem dynamics as surface ocean temperatures rise

What are the type, direction, and strength of species, community, and ecosystem responses to warming in aquatic mesocosm studies and their dependency on experimental characteristics? A systematic review protocol

Background Mesocosm experiments have become increasingly popular in climate change research as they bridge the gap between small-scale, less realistic, microcosm experiments, and large-scale, more complex, natural systems. Characteristics of aquatic mesocosm designs (e.g., mesocosm volume, study duration, and replication) vary widely, potentially affecting the magnitude and direction of effect sizes measured in experiments. In this global systematic review we aim to identify the type, direction and strength of climate warming effects on aquatic species, communities and ecosystems in mesocosm experiments. Furthermore, we will investigate the context-dependency of the observed effects on several a priori determined effect moderators (ecological and methodological). Our conclusions will provide recommendations for aquatic scientists designing mesocosm experiments, as well as guidelines for interpretation of experimental results by scientists, policy-makers and the general public. Methods We will conduct a systematic search using multiple online databases to gather evidence from the scientific literature on the effects of warming experimentally tested in aquatic mesocosms. Data from relevant studies will be extracted and used in a random effects meta-analysis to estimate the overall effect sizes of warming experiments on species performance, biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Experimental characteristics (e.g., mesocosm size and shape, replication-level, experimental duration and design, biogeographic region, community type, crossed manipulation) will be further analysed using subgroup analyses

Functioning of Coastal River-Dominated Ecosystems and Implications for Oil Spill Response: From Observations to Mechanisms and Models

Coastal river-dominated oceans are physically complex, biologically productive, and intimately connected to human socioeconomic activity. The Deepwater Horizon blowout and subsequent advection of oil into coastal waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM) highlighted the complex linkages among oceanographic processes within this river-dominated system and knowledge gaps about it that resulted in imprecise information on both oil transport and ecosystem consequences. The interdisciplinary research program implemented through the CONsortium for oil exposure pathways in COastal River-Dominated Ecosystems (CONCORDE) is designed to identify and quantitatively assess key physical, biological, and geochemical processes acting in the nGOM, in order to provide the foundation for implementation of a synthesis model (coupled circulation and biogeochemistry) of the nGOM shelf system that can ultimately aid in prediction of oil spill transport and impacts. CONCORDE field and modeling efforts in 2015–2016 focused on defining the influence of freshwater input from river plumes in the nGOM. In situ observations, combined with field-deployed and simulated drifters, show considerable variability in the spatial extent of freshwater influence that is related to wind direction and strength. Increased primary production and particle abundance (a proxy for secondary production) was observed during the spring when nGOM shelf waters were becoming stratified. Zooplankton and marine snow displayed intense vertical and horizontal patchiness during all seasons, often aggregating near the halocline. Simulations of a neutrally buoyant tracer released offshore of the Mississippi Bight showed surface advection of low tracer concentrations onto the inner shelf under high river discharge, high stratification, and variable wind conditions compared to almost no advection onto the inner shelf under low discharge, negligible stratification, and generally northeasterly winds. The interconnectedness of environmental variables and biological activity indicate that multiple factors can affect the transport of oil and the resulting ecological impacts. The process-oriented understanding provided by CONCORDE is necessary to predict ecosystem-level impacts of oil spills, and these results are applicable to other river-dominated coastal systems worldwide that often support oil extraction activities

Globally consistent quantitative observations of planktonic ecosystems

In this paper we review the technologies available to make globally quantitative observations of particles in general—and plankton in particular—in the world oceans, and for sizes varying from sub-microns to centimeters. Some of these technologies have been available for years while others have only recently emerged. Use of these technologies is critical to improve understanding of the processes that control abundances, distributions and composition of plankton, provide data necessary to constrain and improve ecosystem and biogeochemical models, and forecast changes in marine ecosystems in light of climate change. In this paper we begin by providing the motivation for plankton observations, quantification and diversity qualification on a global scale. We then expand on the state-of-the-art, detailing a variety of relevant and (mostly) mature technologies and measurements, including bulk measurements of plankton, pigment composition, uses of genomic, optical and acoustical methods as well as analysis using particle counters, flow cytometers and quantitative imaging devices. We follow by highlighting the requirements necessary for a plankton observing system, the approach to achieve it and associated challenges. We conclude with ranked action-item recommendations for the next 10 years to move toward our vision of a holistic ocean-wide plankton observing system. Particularly, we suggest to begin with a demonstration project on a GO-SHIP line and/or a long-term observation site and expand from there, ensuring that issues associated with methods, observation tools, data analysis, quality assessment and curation are addressed early in the implementation. Global coordination is key for the success of this vision and will bring new insights on processes associated with nutrient regeneration, ocean production, fisheries and carbon sequestration

Fine-scale spatial and temporal plankton distributions in the Southern California Bight : lessons from in situ microscopes and broadband echosounders

Phytoplankton and zooplankton are important components of marine ecosystems, and play a major role in the biological pump, affecting carbon transport in the global oceans. Their dynamic heterogeneous spatial and temporal distributions require special tools for observing them at the ecological scales relevant to the individual organisms. In this work, I used optic and acoustic methods to study plankton organisms at spatial scales of meters and temporal scales ranging from minutes to months. Using two in situ microscopes I described the fine-scale vertical distribution of phytoplankton and several zooplankton taxa in a coastal location in the Southern California Bight. Highly resolved spatial observations revealed cryptic maxima of fluorescent particles not observed with traditional fluorometers. Furthermore, this high sampling resolution revealed that water density, and not depth, regulated the vertical position, and interactions between observed phytoplankton and zooplankton distributions. Underwater acoustic echosounders can be powerful tools to observe in situ plankton distributions. Interpreting the acoustic echoes, however, requires highly calibrated instruments and ground -truthing experiments to identify the source of acoustic signals. This work presents the description of a novel combination of a broadband, high-frequency (1.5-2.5 MHz) echosounder and a stereoscopic camera --combined, these systems can localize the echo produced by an individual target while simultaneously providing visual identification of the target. This work has provided one of the first comparisons of in situ measured broadband target strength (BTS) and the expected signal using a physical model. The results of this experiment revealed unexpected, important differences between measured and modeled BTS. This system was also used to make in situ observations of individual fragile gelatinous organisms, marine snow particles and phytoplankton, providing evidence of their significant acoustic reflectivity. Finally, using a moored in situ microscope (Scripps Plankton Camera) similar in design to the O-Cam helped identifying a parasite-host interaction over a period of a few months. This is the first reported observation of Paradinium poucheti parasitizing Oithona similis in the North Pacific Ocean. The short time-series revealed that the prevalence of this parasite is higher than previously observed in other ocean basin