Decadal changes in phytoplankton color index and selected calanoid copepods in continuous plankton recorder data from the Scotian Shelf

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• Main Author: Sameoto, D
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2001
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Calanus finmarchicus; Copepods
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f01-033; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f01-033

Continuous plankton recorder data for phytoplankton color index, total diatoms, Calanus finmarchicus stages 1–4 and 5–6, C. glacialis, C. hyperboreus, and Paracalanus–Pseudocalanus spp. collected between the years 1961 and 1998 in the Canadian Atlantic region were analyzed for geographic and temporal changes. Significant differences in both geographic and temporal scales were detected. Changes were observed in all taxa during 1991–1998 with the phytoplankton color index increasing significantly (P = 0.05). A shift in the climatology occurred after 1991 as concentrations of C. finmarchicus and Paracalanus–Pseudocalanus became significantly higher (P = 0.05) in the first 3 months of the year compared with the years 1961–1974. Multiple linear regressions calculated between various biological taxa and the storm, temperature, and stratification indices showed that these physical indices explained between 21 and 51% of the multiple regression variance.