Variations in the Labrador Current Transport and Zooplankton Abundance on the NL Shelf by
Variation in the volume transport of the Labrador Current at the shelf break has important implications for recruitment of calanoid copepods on the continental shelf in the NW Atlantic. During the past several decades the ocean climate on the NL shelf have been characterised by several extremes, fro...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.490.1349 http://archive.nafo.int/open/sc/2007/scr07-042.pdf |
| Summary: | Variation in the volume transport of the Labrador Current at the shelf break has important implications for recruitment of calanoid copepods on the continental shelf in the NW Atlantic. During the past several decades the ocean climate on the NL shelf have been characterised by several extremes, from the warm 1960s, cold early 1970s, mid-1980s and early 1990s and the recent warm trend from mid-1990s to early 2000s. As a result of the variations in stratification and the baroclinic currents the volume transport of the Labrador Current at the shelf break also show large interannual variations with an increasing trend in recent years along the Hamilton Bank and Flemish Cap sections. Variations in ocean circulation are hypothesized to influence the distribution and recruitment of zooplankton populations. In this study we focus on the response of the calanoid copepod, Calanus finmarchicus to variations in the volume transport of the LC. Prior to reaching maturity, this species undergoes a transition to deep waters (500 – 2000 m) and a dormancy period during autumn and winter. In order to re-populate the shelf, advective transport of individuals across the shelf-break front from nearby deep slope waters must occur. Our results indicate that volume transport variability of the Labrador Current is significantly correlated with the relative abundance of Calanus finmarchicus, and may impact recruitment of calanoid copepods in shelf ecosystems in the NW Atlantic. |
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