Abundance and Structure of the Zooplankton Community During a Post-eruptive Process: The Case of the Submarine Volcano Tagoro (El Hierro; Canary Islands), 2013-2018

• Published in: Frontiers in Marine Science
• Main Authors: Fernández de Puelles, María Luz, Gazá, Magdalena, Cabanellas-Reboredo, Miguel, González-Vega, Alba, Herrera, Inma, Presas-Navarro, Carmen, Arrieta, Jesús M., Fraile-Nuez, Eugenio
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Canary Islands; North Atlantic Subtropical; Tagoro submarine volcano; El Hierro island; post-eruptive stage; copepod assemblages; Marine Science; plankton diversity; North Atlantic; Copepods
• Online Access: https://repository.publisso.de/resource/frl:6474260; https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.692885

<jats:p>The mesozooplankton community was analyzed over a 6-year period (2013-2018) during the post-eruptive stage of the submarine volcano Tagoro, located south of the island of El Hierro (Canary Archipelago, Spain). Nine cruises from March 2013 to March 2018 were carried out in two different seasons, spring (March-April) and autumn (October). A high-resolution study was carried out across the main cones of Tagoro volcano, as well as a large number of reference stations surrounding El Hierro (unaffected by the volcano). The zooplankton community at the reference stations showed a high similarity with more than 85% of the variation in abundance and composition attributable to seasonal differences. Moreover, our data showed an increase in zooplankton abundance in waters affected by the volcano with a higher presence of non-calanoid copepods and a decline in the diversity of the copepod community, indicating that volcanic inputs have a significant effect on these organisms. Fourteen different zooplankton groups were found but copepods were dominant (79%) with 59 genera and 170 species identified. Despite the high species number, less than 30 presented a larger abundance than 1%. Oncaea and Clausocalanus were the most abundant genera followed by Oithona and Paracalanus (60%). Nine species dominated (&gt;2%):<jats:italic>O. media, O. plumifera</jats:italic>, and<jats:italic>O. setigera</jats:italic>among the non-calanoids and<jats:italic>M. clausi, P. nanus</jats:italic>,<jats:italic>P. parvus, C. furcatus, C. arcuicornis</jats:italic>, and<jats:italic>N. minor</jats:italic>among the calanoids. After the initial low abundance of the copepods as a consequence of the eruption, an increase was observed in the last years of the study, where besides the small Paracalanus and Clausocalanus, the Cyclopoids seem to have a good adaptive strategy to the new water conditions. The increase in zooplankton abundance and the decline in the copepod diversity in ...