Global zoogeography of fragile macrozooplankton in the upper 100-1000 m inferred from the underwater video profiler

• Published in: ICES Journal of Marine Science
• Main Authors: Stemmann, Lars, Youngbluth, Marsh, Robert, Kevin, Hosia, Aino, Picheral, Marc, Paterson, Harriet, Ibanez, Frederic, Guidi, Lionel, Lombard, Fabien, Gorsky, Gabriel
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'océanographie de Villefranche (LOV), Observatoire océanologique de Villefranche-sur-mer (OOVM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of Bergen (UiB), The University of Western Australia (UWA), Texas A&M University System
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2008
• Subjects: [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography; Indian; Longhurst; Mid-Atlantic Ridge; Pacific; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03494350; https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsn010

4th International Zooplankton Production Symposium, Hiroshima, JAPAN, MAY 28-JUN 01, 2007 International audience Mesopelagic gelatinous zooplankton fauna are insufficiently known because of inappropriate and infrequent sampling, but may have important trophic roles. In situ imaging systems and undersea vehicles have been used to investigate their diversity, distribution, and abundance. The use of different platforms, however, restricts the comparison of data from different regions. Starting in 2001, the underwater video profiler (UVP) was deployed during 12 cruises in six oceanic regimes (Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic shelves, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, tropical Pacific Ocean, eastern Indian Ocean, and Subantarctic Ocean) to determine the vertical distribution of organisms in the upper 1000 m. Nine oceanic regions were identified based on the hydrological properties of the water column. They correspond to nine of the biogeochemical provinces defined by Longhurst. In all, 21 morphotypes were recognized: sarcodines (eight groups), ctenophores (two groups), siphonophores, medusae (five groups), crustaceans (one group), chaetognaths, appenclicularians, salps, and fish. The similarity in the community assemblages of zooplankton in the 100-1000 m layer was significantly greater within regions than between regions, in most cases. The regions with comparable composition were located in the North Atlantic with adjacent water masses, suggesting that the assemblages were either mixed by advective transport or that environmental conditions were similar in mesopelagic layers. The data suggest that the spatial structuring of mesopelagic macrozooplankton occurs on large scales (e.g. basin scales) but not necessarily on smaller scales (e.g. oceanic front).