Local variability of Arctic mesozooplankton biomass and production: A case summer study

Vladimir G Dvoretsky; Alexander G Dvoretsky

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.117416

Local variability of Arctic mesozooplankton biomass and production: A case summer study

Environ Res. 2024 Jan 15:241:117416. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117416. Epub 2023 Oct 16.

Authors

Vladimir G Dvoretsky¹, Alexander G Dvoretsky²

Affiliations

¹ Murmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MMBI RAS), 17 Str. Vladimirskaya, Murmansk, 183038, Russia.
² Murmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MMBI RAS), 17 Str. Vladimirskaya, Murmansk, 183038, Russia. Electronic address: ag-dvoretsky@yandex.ru.

PMID: 37852459
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117416

Abstract

The Barents Sea is a highly productive ecosystem within the Arctic Ocean. The overall biological productivity in this region relies heavily on the secondary mesozooplankton production (MZP). Previous research has primarily focused on mesozooplankton abundance (MZA) and biomass (MZB), lacking a comprehensive analysis of the environmental factors that influence MZP in the Arctic marine environment. The primary objective of this study was to examine the key factors responsible for the spatial variability in the community structure and MZP during the summer season. Data were collected from 52 stations in the central Barents Sea, specifically during post-bloom conditions in 2015. Through cluster analysis, two distinct groups of stations were identified, differing in terms of mesozooplankton taxa abundance. Copepods were found to dominate the mesozooplankton assemblages, comprising 89% of total MZA, 83% of MZB, and 68% of MZP. The biomass stocks in the study area varied from 8 to 102 mg dry mass (DM) m^-3, with an average of 44 mg DM m^-3. MZP rates ranged from 0.34 to 2.33 mg DM m^-3 day^-1, with an average of 1.16 mg DM m^-3 day^-1. The highest MZB and MZP values were observed at frontal zones that separated relatively warm and cold waters. Through redundancy analysis, it was determined that the primary environmental factors affected the distribution of mesozooplankton were longitude, latitude, and sampling depth. Temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll a concentration were found to have a less significant impact. These findings emphasize the importance of oceanographic conditions as the main predictors of mesozooplankton distribution during the summer season in the Arctic marine environment. This study highlights the essential role of environmental forcing in determining the productivity of Arctic marine zooplankton. Given the ongoing climatic changes, the results of this report can serve as a valuable tool for monitoring pelagic ecosystems in the Arctic.

Keywords: Arctic shelf; Community structure; Copepods; Environmental influence; Plankton; Productivity.

MeSH terms

Arctic Regions
Biomass
Chlorophyll A
Ecosystem*
Environment*
Seasons

Substances

Chlorophyll A