Large-scale patterns of zooplankton abundance in the NE Atlantic in June and July 1996

Abstract

The abundance of various mesozooplankon taxa was measured in the NE Atlantic (36–64°N and 15–24°W) during June and July 1996 using a high-speed plankton sampler, the U-Tow. A total of 225 plankton samples were collected, each representing about 16.5 km of tow. The abundance of mesozooplankton during 1996 was compared to the data that have been collected historically in this region by the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey. The abundance of Calanus in 1996 was well below the long-term mean. For fish larvae, euphausiids and amphipods there was a distinct peak in abundance around 49–50°N associated with frontal features, but elsewhere levels of abundance were again generally below the long-term mean.