MiniGrant List: 2006-2007

 

multinet

Title: Vertical distribution of arctic mesozooplankton in Franklin Bay, southern Beaufort Sea, during winter 2003-04

Louis Fortier Principal Investigator
Louis Fortier,
Département de Biologie, Université Laval, Canada

Project goals
The objective of this study is to assess the arctic zooplankton composition and vertical distribution in Franklin Bay, southern Beaufort Sea.

Results

The ArcOD grant enabled us to complete the taxonomic analysis of 21 samples out of the 91 zooplankton samples that have been processed to date. A total of 61 species/taxa were identified in these samples, collected with the 200 μm mesh size nets of the Hydrobios vertical sampler. Some damaged individuals, mostly gelatinous zooplankton difficult to identify with certainty to species, were pooled in broader taxonomic ranks. The data file that has been produced with the 91 analyzed samples consists of 4208 records. This dataset will be updated with the processing of the remaining samples. One metadata file already gathers the information on the CASES zooplankton dataset. No new species were found in the samples. The data analysis will await the completion of the remaining samples and thus, a thorough interpretation of the results is not available yet. Though, a quick examination of the data showed that copepodite stages of the copepods Oncaea borealis, Oithona similis, Metridia longa, Microcalanus pygmaeus, Calanus glacialis, Pseudocalanus sp., Calanus hyperboreus, and Cyclopina sp. numerically dominated the zooplankton assemblages, as previously observed in the region in the fall of 2002. Cnidarians, chaetognaths and gastropods were also abundant. This dataset provides a unique perspective into the taxonomy of the under-ice integrated tows in winter, offering a rare opportunity to describe the annual cycle of arctic zooplankton dynamics.

CCGS Amundsen

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