Hydrographic conditions and mesozooplankton species distribution in the Bay of Biscay shelf during spring 2004
Mesozooplankton community structure on the southern Bay of Biscay shelf and its relationship with environmental conditions was analysed during spring 2004. According to thermohaline characteristics, we observed two frontal zones along the shelf (around 7° and 3°W) that gave rise to three distinct hy...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2006 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/323681 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/323681 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo Bay of Biscay Medio Marino Cantabrian Sea Zooplankton Mesoescale Plumes Iberian Poleward Current Mantel Taxonomy |
| Sumario: | Mesozooplankton community structure on the southern Bay of Biscay shelf and its relationship with environmental conditions was analysed during spring 2004. According to thermohaline characteristics, we observed two frontal zones along the shelf (around 7° and 3°W) that gave rise to three distinct hydrographic regions. The westernmost part of the shelf (WC), defined by the presence of relatively warm and salty water related to the presence of the Iberian Poleward Current (IPC), the easternmost region (EC), characterised by colder and fresher water, and a region in the Central Cantabrian Sea (CC) with thermohaline characteristics in between these two extremes. Besides, a clear coastal-offshore pattern was found in relation to the mixed layer depth (MLD). We observed a good agreement between the aforesaid hydrographic regions and the distribution of zooplankton species. In the WC region, the community structure was dominated by Paracalanus parvus, Oithona helgolandica, Acartia clausii and Clausocalanus pergens, while in the EC region the most dominant species were Noctiluca scintillans and Oncaea media. The CC region showed similar composition of copepods than the WC region but larvaceans (Oikopleura and Fritilaria) were also abundant. Superimposed to this along-shelf pattern, relative abundances differed also between coastal and shelf stations. |
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