Trophic interactions of meso- and macrozooplankton and fish in the Iceland Sea as evaluated by fatty acid and stable isotope analysis

A trophic study was carried out in August of 2007 and 2008 on the pelagic ecosystem in the Subarctic Iceland Sea. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes and fatty acid biomarkers were used to study trophic linkages and the trophic ecology of the most important pelagic species in this ecosystem, with emphasis on capelin (Mallotus villosus). According to 15N enrichment results, there are 3–4 trophic levels in this ecosystem excluding organisms of the microbial loop and birds and mammals. The primarily herbivorous copepod Calanus hyperboreus occupies the lowest trophic level of the animal species studied, and adult capelin and blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) occupy the highest level. Calanus spp. proved to be an important dietary component of most of the species studied, the euphausiid species Thysanoessa inermis and T. longicaudata being exceptions. The chaetognath Eukrohnia hamata is a pure carnivore, feeding heavily on Calanus spp., whereas most of the other zooplankton species studied practice an omnivorous–carnivorous feeding mode. The amphipod species Themisto libellula is important in the diet of adult capelin. Adult capelin and blue whiting share the same feeding habits and could therefore be competing for food

Abstracts of Papers Presented at the 7th ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON ETHNIC AND MINORITY STUDIES

This paper reviews some of the most salient aspects of E. M. Rogg\u27s (1974) seminal work, The Assimilation of Cuban Exiles; The Role of Community and Class--a sociological study of the Cuban community in the town of West New York in northeastern New Jersey. Although taking issue with some of the author\u27s theses, this paper elaborates on other findings of the book in question by means of more recent participant-observation field research in the same neighborhood. For example, the new data confirms Rogg\u27s proposition that the organized ethnic minority helps to direct the process of acculturation, though slowly

Warming of Atlantic Water in two west Spitsbergen fjords over the last century (1912-2009)

The recently observed warming of west Spitsbergen fjords has led to anomalous sea-ice conditions and has implications for the marine ecosystem. We investigated long-term trends of maximum temperature of Atlantic Water (AW) in two west Spitsbergen fjords. The data set is composed of more than 400 oceanographic stations for Isfjorden and Grønfjorden (78.1°N), spanning from 1876 to 2009. Trends throughout the last century (1912–2009) indicate an increase of 1.9°C and 2.1°C in the maximum temperature during autumn for Isfjorden and Grønfjorden, respectively. A recent warming event in the beginning of the 21st century is found to be more than 1°C higher than the second warmest period in the time series. Mean sea-level pressure (MSLP) data from ERA-40 and ERA-Interim data sets produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and mean temperature in the core of the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC) at the Sørkapp Section along 76.3°N were used to explain the variability of the maximum temperature. A correlation analysis confirmed previous findings, showing that variability in the oceanography of the fjords can be explained mainly by two external factors: AW temperature variability in the WSC and regional patterns of the wind stress field. To take both processes into consideration, a multiple regression model accounting for temperature in the WSC core and MSLP over the area was developed. The predicted time series shows a reasonable agreement with observed maxima temperature in Isfjorden for the period 1977–2009 (N=24), with a statistically significant multiple correlation coefficient of 0.60 (R2=0.36) at P<0.05.publishedVersio

Could offspring predation offset the successful reproduction of the arctic copepod Calanus hyperboreus under reduced sea-ice cover conditions?

Life cycle and reproduction of Calanus hyperboreus were studied during a year of record low ice cover in the southeastern Beaufort Sea. Stages CIV, adult females and CV dominated the overwintering population, suggesting a 2- to 3-year life cycle. Within two spring-summer months in the upper water column females filled their energy reserves before initiating their downward seasonal migration. From February to March, vigorous reproduction (20–65 eggs f−1 d−1) delivered numerous eggs (29 000 eggs m−2) at depth and nauplii N1-N3 (17 000 ind. m−2) in the water column. However, CI copepodite recruitment in May, coincident with the phytoplankton bloom, was modest in Amundsen Gulf compared to sites outside the gulf. Consequently, C. hyperboreus abundance and biomass stagnated throughout summer in Amundsen Gulf. As a mismatch between the first-feeding stages and food was unlikely under the favourable feeding conditions of April-May 2008, predation on the egg and larval stages in late winter presumably limited subsequent recruitment and population growth. Particularly abundant in Amundsen Gulf, the copepods Metridia longa and C. glacialis were likely important consumers of C. hyperboreus eggs and nauplii. With the ongoing climate-driven lengthening of the ice-free season, intensification of top-down control of C. hyperboreus recruitment by thriving populations of mesopelagic omnivores and carnivores like M. longa may counteract the potential benefits of increased primary production over the Arctic shelves margins for this key prey of pelagic fish, seabirds and the bowhead whale

Remote sensing of zooplankton swarms

Zooplankton provide the key link between primary production and higher levels of the marine food web and they play an important role in mediating carbon sequestration in the ocean. All commercially harvested fish species depend on zooplankton populations. However, spatio-temporal distributions of zooplankton are notoriously difficult to quantify from ships. We know that zooplankton can form large aggregations that visibly change the color of the sea, but the scale and mechanisms producing these features are poorly known. Here we show that large surface patches (>1000 km 2 ) of the red colored copepod Calanus finmarchicus can be identified from satellite observations of ocean color. Such observations provide the most comprehensive view of the distribution of a zooplankton species to date, and alter our understanding of the behavior of this key zooplankton species. Moreover, our findings suggest that high concentrations of astaxanthin-rich zooplankton can degrade the performance of standard blue-green reflectance ratio algorithms in operational use for retrieving chlorophyll concentrations from ocean color remote sensing.publishedVersio

Zooplankton in Svalbard fjords on the Atlantic–Arctic boundary

Zooplankton abundance and community structures were studied in three west Spitsbergen fjords at the beginning of the warm phase, which seem to have entered in 2006. Sampling was conducted in summer 2007 at stations distributed along transects in Hornsund, Isfjorden and Kongsfjorden. Variations in zooplankton standing stocks and community structures (assessing taxonomic diversity and zoogeographical affiliations) were analysed in relation to the environmental variables using multivariate techniques. The hydrographic conditions in Hornsund were influenced by the cold Arctic Water, whereas those in Isfjorden and especially in Kongsfjorden were, to a greater extent, under the influence of the warm Atlantic Water. High abundances of both meroplankton and holoplankton organisms were observed in Kongsfjorden, with high contributions of boreal and ubiquitous species (Calanus finmarchicus and Oithona similis, respectively). In Hornsund at the same time, the zooplankton consisted mainly of boreo-Arctic and Arctic species, the abundances of which were comparable along the West Spitsbergen Shelf. Our results indicate that the difference in hydrography had measurable effects on the zooplankton community in the study area. Furthermore, by comparing regions of contrasting oceanographic conditions, we present evidence as to how the zooplankton structure will change in the Arctic ecosystems if the warming trends continue to operate with the same dynamics. The advection of Atlantic waters to the Arctic seas may lead to changes in zooplankton structure, with increased abundance and contributions of boreal and small ubiquitous species. The ‘warmer Arctic fjords’ scenarios may also induce more rapid development of both holoplankton and meroplankton populations and, consequently, modify the trophic interactions in plankton communities