Zooplankton Taxonomic Composition Research Articles

Effects of a Submesoscale Oceanographic Filament on Zooplankton Dynamics in the Arctic Marginal Ice Zone

Submesoscale structures, characterized by intense vertical and horizontal velocities, potentially play a crucial role in oceanographic dynamics and pelagic fluxes. Due to their small spatial scale and short temporal persistence, conditions for in situ measurements are challenging and thus the role of such structures for zooplankton distribution is still unclear. During RV Polarstern expedition PS107 to Arctic Fram Strait in July/August 2017, a submesoscale filament was detected, which initiated an ad hoc oceanographic and biological sampling campaign. To determine zooplankton taxonomic composition, horizontal and vertical distribution, abundance and biomass, vertical MultiNet hauls (depth intervals: 300–200–100–50–10–0 m) were taken at four stations across the filament. Zooplankton data were evaluated in context with the physical-oceanographic observations of the filament to assess submesoscale physical-biological interactions. Our data show that submesoscale features considerably impact zooplankton dynamics. While structuring the pelagial with distinct zooplankton communities in a vertical as well as horizontal dimension, they accumulate abundance and biomass of epipelagic species at the site of convergence. Further, high-velocity jets associated with such dynamics are possibly of major importance for species allocation and biological connectivity, accelerating for instance processes such as the ‘Atlantification’ of the Arctic. Thus, submesoscale features affect the surrounding ecosystem in multiple ways with consequences for higher trophic levels and biogeochemical cycles.

Acoustic detection of zooplankton diel vertical migration behaviors on the northern Gulf of Mexico shelf

AbstractZooplankton respond to light levels, oceanographic conditions, and other cues through diel vertical migrations (DVMs), which can occur at dawn and dusk. However, unraveling the influence of these drivers is difficult without high‐resolution time series data encompassing multiple events that can alter zooplankton DVM. We address this knowledge gap with an interseasonal study using high‐resolution measurements of zooplankton DVMs on the freshwater‐influenced northern Gulf of Mexico shelf. Sampling encompassed 6 months of acoustic backscatter and vertical velocity profiles at five locations, supplemented with zooplankton taxonomic composition and abundance from in situ imaging, net samples, glider profiles, and remote sensing. Relative backscatter anomalies (RBAs) displayed a daily pattern that changed abruptly at dawn and dusk, with lower daytime (2–15 dB lower) values relative to nighttime. Daily variability intensified from autumn to spring. The DVM pattern changed in structure on shorter temporal scales (days to weeks), associated with factors including onshore and off‐shelf currents, lunar variability, cloud cover, and harmful algal bloom passage. In situ imaging and net observations showed that the most likely acoustically observed migrating zooplankton were chaetognaths, shrimp (performing reverse DVMs), copepods, and ostracods. Shrimp and chaetognath orientations also showed diel variability, with individuals more frequently oriented vertically during the daytime. Daily RBA and vertical velocity anomaly patterns could be caused by reverse DVM to the near‐surface or nocturnal DVM to the near‐bottom (outside the acoustic detection range) or diel changes in organism orientation. Pattern complexities suggest that multiple behaviors are happening and being observed simultaneously.

Evaluation of marine zooplankton community structure through environmental DNA metabarcoding.

Zooplankton dominate the abundance and biomass of multicellular animals in pelagic marine environments; however, traditional methods to characterize zooplankton communities are invasive and laborious. This study compares zooplankton taxonomic composition revealed through metabarcoding of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and 18S rRNA genes to traditional morphological identification by microscopy. Triplicates of three different sample types were collected from three coral reef sites in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: (1) 1 L surface seawater samples prefiltered through 3 μm filters and subsequently collected on 0.22 μm filters for eDNA (PF‐eDNA); (2) 1 L surface seawater samples filtered on 0.22 μm pore‐size filters (environmental DNA; eDNA), and (3) zooplankton tissue samples from 64 μm, 200 μm, and 500 μm mesh size net tows. The zooplankton tissue samples were split, with half identified morphologically and tissue DNA (T‐DNA) extracted from the other half. The COI and 18S rRNA gene metabarcoding of PF‐eDNA, eDNA, and T‐DNA samples was performed using Illumina MiSeq. Of the families detected with COI and 18S rRNA gene metabarcoding, 40% and 32%, respectively, were also identified through morphological assessments. Significant differences in taxonomic composition were observed between PF‐DNA, eDNA, and T‐DNA with both genetic markers. PF‐eDNA resulted in detection of fewer taxa than the other two sample types; thus, prefiltering is not recommended. All dominant copepod taxa (> 5% of total abundance) were detected with eDNA, T‐DNA, and morphological assessments, demonstrating that eDNA metabarcoding is a promising technique for future biodiversity assessments of pelagic zooplankton in marine systems.

Grazing rates of crustacean zooplankton communities on intact phytoplankton communities in Canadian Subarctic lakes and ponds

Zooplankton grazing can potentially affect the biomass and composition of phytoplankton communities directly and indirectly. Low chlorophyll a concentration for a given TP concentration and simplified fishless food webs lead to the expectation that zooplankton community grazing rates are high in Subarctic regions; however, zooplankton community grazing rates have not been determined for Subarctic lakes/ponds. We estimated zooplankton community grazing rates on phytoplankton in 12 lakes and ponds in Wapusk National Park, Canada using a microcosm grazing experiment. Lakes and ponds differed in zooplankton taxonomic composition, Chl-a concentration, and zooplankton biomass. We found that the grazing rates on the total chlorophyll a (GRTotal) ranged 0–13.7% grazed per day and the grazing rates on the edible (<30 μm, GR<30) chlorophyll a was 0 to 16.7% per day. GRTotal increased with lake Daphnia and cladoceran biomass, as did GR<30, which also had a negative relationship with the total in-lake Chl-a. The calculated zooplankton grazing rates were within the range found for larger, temperate lakes.

Methods of training set construction: Towards improving performance for automated mesozooplankton image classification systems

The correspondence between variation in the physico-chemical properties of the water column and the taxonomic composition of zooplankton communities represents an important indicator of long-term and broad-scale change in marine systems. Evaluating and relating compositional change to various forms of perturbation demand routine taxonomic identification methods that can be applied rapidly and accurately. Traditional identification by human experts is accurate but very time-consuming. The application of automated image classification systems for plankton communities has emerged as a potential resolution to this limitation. The objective of this study is to evaluate how specific aspects of training set construction for the ZooScan system influenced our ability to relate variation in zooplankton taxonomic composition to variation of hydrographic properties in the East China Sea. Specifically, we compared the relative utility of zooplankton classifiers trained with the following: (i) water mass-specific and global training sets; (ii) balanced versus imbalanced training sets. The classification performance (accuracy and precision) of water-mass specific classifiers tended to decline with environmental dissimilarity, suggesting water-mass specificity However, similar classification performance was also achieved by training our system with samples representing all hydrographic sub-regions (i.e. a global classifier). After examining category-specific accuracy, we found that equal performance arises because the accuracy was mainly determined by dominant taxa. This apparently high classification accuracy was at the expense of accurate classification of rare taxa. To explore the basis for such biased classification, we trained our global classifier with an equal amount of training data for each category (balanced training). We found that balanced training had higher accuracy at recognizing rare taxa but low accuracy at abundant taxa. The errors introduced in recognition still pose a major challenge for automatic classification systems. In order to fully automate analyses of zooplankton communities and relate variation in composition to hydrographic properties, the recognition power of the system requires further improvements.

Warming alters the size spectrum and shifts the distribution of biomass in freshwater ecosystems

Organism size is one of the key determinants of community structure, and its relationship with abundance can describe how biomass is partitioned among the biota within an ecosystem. An outdoor freshwater mesocosm experiment was used to determine how warming of∼4 °C would affect the size, biomass and taxonomic structure of planktonic communities. Warming increased the steepness of the community size spectrum by increasing the prevalence of small organisms, primarily within the phytoplankton assemblage and it also reduced the mean and maximum size of phytoplankton by approximately one order of magnitude. The observed shifts in phytoplankton size structure were reflected in changes in phytoplankton community composition, though zooplankton taxonomic composition was unaffected by warming. Furthermore, warming reduced community biomass and total phytoplankton biomass, although zooplankton biomass was unaffected. This resulted in an increase in the zooplankton to phytoplankton biomass ratio in the warmed mesocosms, which could be explained by faster turnover within the phytoplankton assemblages. Overall, warming shifted the distribution of phytoplankton size towards smaller individuals with rapid turnover and low standing biomass, resulting in a reorganization of the biomass structure of the food webs. These results indicate future environmental warming may have profound effects on the structure and functioning of aquatic communities and ecosystems.

Spatial and Temporal Variability of Phytoplankton and Zooplankton in Western Lake Erie

ABSTRACT We examined the plankton communities within western Lake Erie during the summers of 1995 and 1996 and evaluated the hypothesis that zebra mussels exert strong control over the abundance and spatial distribution of plankton. Phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass exhibited strong seasonal and spatial variability throughout the summers of 1995 and 1996. Nearshore areas generally contained more phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass than the offshore sampling area, but there was wide variability in pelagic phytoplankton and crustacean zooplankton. Zooplankton taxonomic composition was different between sampled areas, with more calanoid copepods compared to cladocerans and cyclopoid copepods found in deep, offshore stations. Such patterns increase the difficulty in understanding the effects of zebra mussels on western Lake Erie as they suggest that additional factors, such as nutrient availability, also affect the biomass of these pelagic communities.

Effects on the zooplankton community of pollutant disposal into the Jose Antonio Alzate dam, Mexico

To study the influence of pollutants on water quality from the Jose Antonio Alzate dam in Mexico, plankton samples were taken from locations along an approximately 9 km in a downstream direction. Determinations were made of pH, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, transparency, conductivity, and metal levels in plankton. The dam waters were generally hard, with high levels of electrolytes to a near-neutral pH level. A geographical distribution pattern was observed of zooplankton with the highest concentrations of metals at the confluence of the dam and the Lerma river, their primary source. These values were correlated with the zooplankton taxonomic composition, suggesting that the changes in species diversity and abundance were consistently dependent on the nutrient status. A comparison of net rates of dissolved metals in the dam water indicated that zooplankton responds to changes in water quality, and is quantitatively important in the downstream transport of pollutants.

Cladoceran- and copepod-dominated zooplankton communities graze at similar rates in low-productivity lakes

Many studies suggest that the taxonomic composition of a zooplankton community should determine its grazing rate and selectivity for different types of particles. It is generally believed that copepod-dominated communities should (i) have lower grazing rates and (ii) consume larger particles than communities dominated by large cladocerans. I tested these hypotheses in situ by comparing zooplankton grazing in 19 communities from low-productivity lakes where the zooplankton ranged from &gt;99% copepod biomass to &gt;90% large cladoceran biomass (Holopedium gibberum, Daphnia spp.). The zooplankton grazed 1-14% of total chlorophyll per day and 0-17% of the chlorophyll in algae &lt;35 µm per day. Grazing rates increased with increasing zooplankton biomass (r2 = 0.34, P &lt; 0.01), but once the effect of zooplankton biomass was accounted for, similar grazing rates were found in copepod- and in cladoceran-dominated communities. The difference in grazing rates on small algae and on the whole phytoplankton assemblage, on the other hand, varied systematically with zooplankton taxonomic composition. Holopedium-dominated communities were most efficient at grazing algae &lt;35 µm, Bosmina-dominated communities had similar grazing rates on algae &lt;35 µm and on the whole phytoplankton assemblage, and copepod-dominated communities had similar or slightly higher grazing rates on the whole phytoplankton assemblage. Qualitative differences in grazing selectivity of different zooplankton taxa are observed in complex natural communities.

Differential zooplankton feeding behaviors, selectivities, and community impacts of two planktivorous fishes

We examined the feeding behaviors and selectives of two common planktivorous fishes, pumpkinseeds Lepomis gibbosa and fathead minnows Pimephales promelas in the laboratory. Ingestion rates for both pumpkinseeds and fathead minnows feeding on zooplankton increased as a function of fish length. Pumpkinseeds fed on zooplankton strictly as particulate feeders, with preferences increasing as a function of zooplankton body size regardless of taxonomic identity. Preferences were highest for large Daphnia, intermediate for intermediate-sized copepods, and lowest for small Ceriodaphnia. Fathead minnows displayed the ability to use both particulate-feeding and filter-feeding behaviors. Differential preferences tended to reflect both zooplankton size and taxon, being highest for large, slow-swimming Daphnia, intermediate for small Ceriodaphnia, and lowest for faster-swimming copepods. These differences in prey capture behaviors and preferences of the two fishes are reflected in the zooplankton taxonomic composition of small ponds containing each fish type. The crustacean zooplankton assemblages in ponds containing both pumpkinseeds and fathead minnows were dominated by copepods. Cladocerans were rare. In ponds containing pumpkinseeds, but no fathead minnows, cladocerans were abundant, generally accounting for up to 80% of total crustacean zooplankton biomass. These results suggest that the type of planktivore, and not simply the presence or abundance of planktivores in a system, can determine zooplankton community structure.

Grazing by Zooplankton and Its Relationship to Community Structure

Zooplankton can consume a substantial portion of the phytoplankton, but grazing rates are notoriously variable seasonally and among sites. We developed models relating grazing rates to characteristics of Zooplankton communities, food concentration, and water temperature. Grazing rates were measured in 30 Zooplankton communities that differed in biomass, size distribution, and taxonomic composition. Crustaceans grazed per day 2–21% of the chlorophyll in algae &lt;35 μm, which is within the range of most grazing rates measured in other studies. Grazing rates were positively related to Zooplankton biomass and negatively related to food concentration, although much variation among communities remains unexplained (R2 = 0.19–0.35). Surprisingly, we could not detect a general relationship between Zooplankton size distribution and grazing rate. Communities dominated by large Zooplankton (mostly Daphnia and Diaphanosoma) did not tend to have higher grazing rates than communities dominated by small Zooplankton. Zooplankton taxonomic composition was significantly related to grazing rates but explained little variation among communities. Grazing rates calculated from published allometric equations were biased, usually overestimating phytoplankton removal by Zooplankton.

Seasonal patterns in metal levels of the net plankton of three Canadian shield lakes

Seasonal changes in the levels of Ca, Sr, Ba, Mn, Fe, Al, Mg, Zn and Cd in the net plankton (> 250 μm) of three Canadian Shield lakes are described, and major temporal, multielemental patterns are extracted using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS). Changes in Ca, Sr, Ba and Mn produced the strongest temporal pattern summarized in the first NMDS axis. Its scores were correlated with zooplankton taxonomic composition, not with water quality data, suggesting that the pattern was attributable to seasonal succession of zooplankton species. This suggestion was verified by the good match of observed seasonal changes in net plankton Ca and Mn levels with levels predicted using the Ca and Mn concentrations of individual zooplankton species measured on a single occasion, and temporal changes in their proportional contribution to total net plankton biomass. Seasonal variability of seven of the nine metals, all but Fe and Mn, was greatest in Plastic Lake, the most acidic of the lakes. A comparison of net rates of accumulation of Zn and Cd in the sediments of the lakes with estimates of metal flux through the zooplankton indicated that zooplankton may be quantitatively important in the downward transport of Cd in many Canadian Shield lakes.

Macrozooplankton biomass in a warm‐core Gulf Stream ring: Time series changes in size structure, taxonomic composition, and vertical distribution

Macrozooplankton size structure and taxonomic composition in warm‐core ring 82B was examined from a time series (March, April, June) of ring center MOCNESS (1 m) samples. Size distributions of 15 major taxonomic groups were determined from length measurements digitized from silhouette photographs of the samples. Silhouette digitization allows rapid quantification of Zooplankton size structure and taxonomic composition. Length/weight regressions, determined for each taxon, were used to partition the biomass (displacement volumes) of each sample among the major taxonomic groups. Zooplankton taxonomic composition and size structure varied with depth and appeared to coincide with the hydrographic structure of the ring. In March and April, within the thermostad region of the ring, smaller herbivorous/omnivorous Zooplankton, including copepods, crustacean larvae, and euphausiids, were dominant, whereas below this region, larger carnivores, such as medusae, ctenophores, fish, and decapods, dominated. Copepods were generally dominant in most samples above 500 m. Total macrozooplankton abundance and biomass increased between March and April, primarily because of increases in herbivorous taxa, including copepods, crustacean larvae, and larvaceans. A marked increase in total macrozooplankton abundance and biomass between April and June was characterized by an equally dramatic shift from smaller herbivores (1.0–3.0 mm) in April to large herbivores (5.0–6.0 mm) and carnivores (&gt;15 mm) in June. Species identifications made directly from the samples suggest that changes in trophic structure resulted from seeding type immigration and subsequent in situ population growth of Slope Water zooplankton species.