Effects of Atlantification and changing sea‐ice dynamics on zooplankton community structure and carbon flux between 2000 and 2016 in the eastern Fram Strait

Abstract

AbstractThe collection of zooplankton swimmers and sinkers in time‐series sediment traps provides unique insight into year‐round and interannual trends in zooplankton population dynamics. These samples are particularly valuable in remote and difficult to access areas such as the Arctic Ocean, where samples from the ice‐covered season are rare. In the present study, we investigated zooplankton composition based on swimmers and sinkers collected by sediment traps at water depths of 180–280, 800–1320, and 2320–2550 m, over a period of 16 yr (2000–2016) at the Long‐Term Ecological Research observatory HAUSGARTEN located in the eastern Fram Strait (79°N, 4°E). The time‐series data showed seasonal and interannual trends within the dominant zooplankton groups including copepoda, foraminifera, ostracoda, amphipoda, pteropoda, and chaetognatha. Amphipoda and copepoda dominated the abundance of swimmers while pteropoda and foraminifera were the most important sinkers. Although the seasonal occurrence of these groups was relatively consistent between years, there were notable interannual variations in abundance, suggesting the influence of various environmental conditions such as sea‐ice dynamic and lateral advection of water masses, for example, meltwater and Atlantic water. Statistical analyses revealed a correlation between the Arctic dipole climatic index and sea‐ice dynamics (i.e., ice coverage and concentration), as well as the importance of the distance from the ice edge on swimmer composition patterns and carbon export.