Streaming Media
Presentation Abstract
Understanding zooplankton community structure and biomass in the Salish Sea is vital for determining ecosystem health and the factors affecting upper trophic levels, such as forage fish, salmon, and seabirds. Zooplankton are important prey for these groups, including for culturally important juvenile salmon during their critical feeding period, which has implications for top predators, such as orcas. In this ongoing time series that began in 2014, zooplankton were collected from sites in Puget Sound and Northern Washington waters. Here we examine patterns along a north-south latitudinal gradient, from the San Juan Islands to South Sound, in order to examine spatial and temporal variability of communities. Species composition and total biomass varied widely among sites, especially when comparing Puget Sound to the more oceanic-influenced northern sites. Central sites in Admiralty Inlet, South Whidbey Basin, and Central Basin were found to be particular biomass hot spots, especially for many crustaceans, such as copepods, crabs, and amphipods. The highest biomass of gelatinous zooplankton was most frequently found in southern regions, such as South Sound and southern Central Basin. The Pacific marine heatwave of 2014-2016 appeared to affect regions differently; the central hot spots, in particular, had higher biomass in 2015-2016, the warmest years in Puget Sound. Many taxa increased in biomass during this time, including various crustaceans, molluscs, some gelatinous zooplankton, and Puget Sound resident copepod species. Northern stations reached higher biomass later, after 2018, when some species of large, cold-water oceanic copepods increased in abundance. These results give insight on the relatively understudied zooplankton communities in this area of the Salish Sea, illustrating complexities in species composition and biomass across regions and time. This helps to provide a better understanding of the ways that climate change may affect different regions and species of the southern Salish Sea.
Session Title
Ocean Productivity & Nutrients
Conference Track
SSE3: The Circle of Life
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2022 : Online)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE-traditionals-409
Start Date
26-4-2022 9:45 AM
End Date
26-4-2022 11:15 AM
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.
Type
Text
Language
English
Zooplankton community composition and biomass across a latitudinal gradient in the southern Salish Sea, 2014-2021
Understanding zooplankton community structure and biomass in the Salish Sea is vital for determining ecosystem health and the factors affecting upper trophic levels, such as forage fish, salmon, and seabirds. Zooplankton are important prey for these groups, including for culturally important juvenile salmon during their critical feeding period, which has implications for top predators, such as orcas. In this ongoing time series that began in 2014, zooplankton were collected from sites in Puget Sound and Northern Washington waters. Here we examine patterns along a north-south latitudinal gradient, from the San Juan Islands to South Sound, in order to examine spatial and temporal variability of communities. Species composition and total biomass varied widely among sites, especially when comparing Puget Sound to the more oceanic-influenced northern sites. Central sites in Admiralty Inlet, South Whidbey Basin, and Central Basin were found to be particular biomass hot spots, especially for many crustaceans, such as copepods, crabs, and amphipods. The highest biomass of gelatinous zooplankton was most frequently found in southern regions, such as South Sound and southern Central Basin. The Pacific marine heatwave of 2014-2016 appeared to affect regions differently; the central hot spots, in particular, had higher biomass in 2015-2016, the warmest years in Puget Sound. Many taxa increased in biomass during this time, including various crustaceans, molluscs, some gelatinous zooplankton, and Puget Sound resident copepod species. Northern stations reached higher biomass later, after 2018, when some species of large, cold-water oceanic copepods increased in abundance. These results give insight on the relatively understudied zooplankton communities in this area of the Salish Sea, illustrating complexities in species composition and biomass across regions and time. This helps to provide a better understanding of the ways that climate change may affect different regions and species of the southern Salish Sea.
