Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Regional and seasonal variability of zooplankton collected using sediment traps in the southeastern Beaufort Sea, Canadian Arctic

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Polar Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Time-series sediment traps were deployed at six mooring sites in the southeastern Beaufort Sea from October 2003 to August 2004 during the cruise of the Canadian research vessel Amundsen within the framework of the Canadian Arctic Shelf Exchange Study (CASES). Trap-collected zooplankton (TCZ) at around 200 m water depth was dominated by copepods accounting for 74–93% of the total abundance throughout the year with increase in abundance at all sites during the fall. Seven distinct TCZ groups were identified through cluster analysis. Two marked seasonal shifts in TCZ composition from late fall to early winter and from spring to early summer were revealed at five sites at 200 m depth. The zooplankton was dominated by Oncaea spp., pteropods, and copepod nauplii in the late fall cluster and in the winter cluster, and by copepod nauplii in the summer cluster. A significant change in water temperature, salinity, and sea ice concentration was observed only with the spring–summer shift. The cluster analysis also revealed that TCZ composition at 200 m at a station located in the Cape Bathurst Polynya was markedly different from those at other sites through the study period by being characterized by the dominance of various copepodite stages of Metridia longa. This was probably due to a less prolonged period of sea ice cover, which provides favorable food conditions for the zooplankton community.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arrigo KR, van Dijken GL (2004) Annual cycles of sea ice and phytoplankton in Cape Bathurst polynya, southeastern Beaufort Sea, Canadian Arctic. Geophys Res Lett 31:L08304. doi:10.1029/2003GL018978

  • Ashjian CJ, Campbell RG, Welch HE, Butler M, Van Keuren D (2003) Annual cycle in abundance, distribution, and size in relation to hydrography of important copepod species in the western Arctic Ocean. Deep Sea Res I 50:1235–1261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Auel H, Hagen W (2002) Mesozooplankton community structure, abundance and biomass in the central Arctic Ocean. Mar Biol 140:1013–1021

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Båmstedt U, Ervik A (1984) Local variations in size and activity among Calanus finmarchicus and Metridia longa (Copepoda: Calanoida). Overwintering on the west coast of Norway. J Plankton Res 6:843–857

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blachowiak-Samolyk K, Kwasniewski S, Richardson K, Dmoch K, Hansen E, Hop H, Falk-Petersen S, Mouritsen LT (2006) Arctic zooplankton do not perform diel vertical migration (DVM) during periods of midnight sun. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 308:101–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brodskii KA (1967) Calanoida of the far eastern seas and polar basin of the USSR. In: Pavlovskii EN (ed) Keys to the fauna of the USSR, vol 35. Israel Programme Scientific Translation, Jerusalem

    Google Scholar 

  • Carmack EC, Kulikov EA (1998) Wind-forced upwelling and internal Kelvin wave generation in Mackenzie Canyon, Beaufort Sea. J Geophys Res 103:18447–18458

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carmack EC, Macdonald RW, Jasper S (2004) Phytoplankton productivity on the Canadian shelf of the Beaufort Sea. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 277:37–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conover RJ (1988) Comparative life histories in the genera Calanus and Neocalanus in high latitudes of the northern hemisphere. Hydrobiologia 167(168):127–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conover RJ, Huntley M (1991) Copepods in ice-covered seas-distribution, adaptations to seasonally limited food, metabolism, growth patterns and life cycle strategies in polar seas. J Mar Syst 2:1–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darnis G, Barber DG, Fortier L (2008) Sea ice and the onshore-offshore gradient in pre-winter zooplankton assemblages in southeastern Beaufort Sea. J Mar Syst 74:994–1011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson JK (1978) Vertical distribution of Calanus hyperboreus in the central Arctic Ocean. Limnol Oceanogr 23:950–957

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickson DL, Gilchrist HG (2002) Status of marine birds of the southeastern Beaufort Sea. Arctic 55:S46–S58

    Google Scholar 

  • Falkenhaug T, Tande K, Timonin A (1997) Spatio-temporal patterns in the copepod community in Malangen, Northern Norway. J Plankton Res 19:449–468

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forbes JR, Macdonald RW, Carmack EC, Iseki K, O’Brien MC (1992) Zooplankton retained in sequential sediment traps along the Beaufort Sea shelf break during winter. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 49:663–670

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forest A, Sampei M, Hattori H, Makabe R, Sasaki H, Fukuchi M, Fortier L (2007) Particulate organic carbon fluxes on the slope of the Mackenzie Shelf (Beaufort Sea): physical and biological forcing of shelf-basin exchanges. J Mar Syst 68:39–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forest A, Sampei M, Makabe R, Sasaki H, Barber DG, Gratton Y, Wassmann P, Fortier L (2008) The annual cycle of particulate organic carbon export in Franklin Bay (Canadian Arctic): environmental control and food web implications. J Geophys Res 113:C03S05. doi:10.1029/2007JC004262

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Frost BW (1974) Calanus marshallae, a new species of calanoid copepod closely allied to sibling species Calanus finmarchicus and Calanus glacialis. Mar Biol 26:77–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grainger EH (1965) Zooplankton from the Arctic Ocean and adjacent Canadian waters. J Fish Res Board Can 22:543–564

    Google Scholar 

  • Grønvik S, Hopkins CCE (1984) Ecological investigations of the zooplankton community of Balsfjorden, northern Norway: generation cycle, seasonal vertical distribution, and seasonal variations in body weight and carbon and nitrogen content of the copepod Metridia longa (Lubbock). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 80:93–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harwood LA, Stirling I (1992) Distribution of ringed seals in the southeastern Beaufort Sea during late summer. Can J Zool 70:891–900

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirche H-J (1991) Distribution of dominant calanoid copepod species in the Greenland Sea during late fall. Polar Biol 11:351–362

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirche H-J (1997) Life cycle of the copepod Calanus hyperboreus in the Greenland Sea. Mar Biol 128:607–618

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirche H-J, Kosobokova K (2003) Early reproduction and development of dominant calanoid copepods in the sea ice zone of the Barents Sea—need for a change of paradigms? Mar Biol 143:769–781

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirche H-J, Niehoff B (1996) Reproduction of the Arctic copepod Calanus hyperboreus in the Greenland Sea, field and laboratory observations. Polar Biol 3:209–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson MW (1963) Zooplankton collections from the high polar basins with special reference to the Copepoda. Limnol Oceanogr 8:89–102

    Google Scholar 

  • Knauer G, Martin JH, Bruland KW (1979) Fluxes of particulate carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in the upper water column of the northeast Pacific. Deep Sea Res 26:97–108

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lavoie D, Macdonald RW, Denman KL (2009) Primary productivity and export fluxes on the Canadian shelf of the Beaufort Sea: a modelling study. J Mar Syst 75:17–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lukovich JV, Barber DG (2006) Atmospheric controls on sea ice motion in the southern Beaufort Sea. J Geophys Res 111:D18103. doi:10.1029/2005JD006408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald RW, Solomon SM, Cranston RE, Welch HE, Yunker MB, Gobeil C (1998) A sediment and organic carbon budget for the Canadian Beaufort Shelf. Mar Geol 144:255–273

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McLaughlin F, Shimada K, Carmack E, Itoh M, Nishino S (2005) The hydrography of the southern Canada Basin, 2002. Polar Biol 28:182–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melling H (1998) Hydrographic changes in the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean, 1979–1996. J Geophys Res 103:7637–7645

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson RJ, Carmack EC, McLaughlin FA, Cooper GA (2009) Penetration of Pacific zooplankton into the western Arctic Ocean tracked with molecular population genetics. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 381:129–138

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien MC, Macdonald RW, Melling H, Iseki K (2006) Particle fluxes and geochemistry on the Canadian Beaufort Shelf: implications for sediment transport and deposition. Cont Shelf Res 26:41–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ota Y, Hattori H, Makabe R, Sampei M, Tanimura A, Sasaki H (2008) Seasonal changes in nauplii and adults of Calanus hyperboreus (Copepoda) captured in sediment traps, Amundsen Gulf, Canadian Arctic. Polar Sci 2:215–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pickart RS (2004) Shelfbreak circulation in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea: Mean structure and variability. J Geophys Res 109:C04024. doi:10.1029/2003JC001912

  • Sampei M, Forest A, Sasaki H, Hattori H, Makabe R, Fukuchi M, Fortier L (2009a) Attenuation of the vertical flux of copepod fecal pellets under Arctic sea ice: evidence for an active detrital food web in winter. Polar Biol 32:225–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sampei M, Sasaki H, Hattori H, Forest A, Fortier L (2009b) Significant contributions of passively sinking copepods to downward particle flux in the Arctic water. Limnol Oceanogr (in press)

  • Seiler D, Brandt A (1997) Seasonal occurrence of planktic Crustacea in sediment trap samples at three depth horizons in the Greenland Sea. Polar Biol 17:337–349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seuthe L, Darnis G, Wexels Riser C, Wassmann P, Fortier L (2007) Winter-spring feeding and metabolism of Arctic copepods: insights from faecal pellet production and respiration measurements in the southeastern Beaufort Sea. Polar Biol 30:427–436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith SL (1990) Egg production and feeding by copepods prior to the spring bloom of phytoplankton in Fram Strait, Greenland Sea. Mar Biol 106:59–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith SL, Schnack-Schiel S (1990) Polar zooplankton. In: Smith WO Jr (ed) Polar oceanography. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 527–598

    Google Scholar 

  • Vermeij GJ, Roopnarine PD (2008) The coming arctic invasion. Science 321:780–781

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Willis K, Cottier F, Kwasniewski S, Wold A, Falk-Petersen S (2006) The influence of advection on zooplankton community composition in an Arctic fjord (Kongsfjorden, Svalbard). J Mar Syst 61:39–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willis KJ, Cottier FR, Kwasniewski S (2008) Impact of warm water advection on the winter zooplankton community in an Arctic fjord. Polar Biol 31:475–481

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamaguchi A, Ikeda T (2000) Vertical distribution, life cycle, and developmental characteristics of the mesopelagic calanoid copepod Gaidius variabilis (Aetideidae) in the Oyashio region, western North Pacific Ocean. Mar Biol 137:99–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the officers and crew of the CCGS Amundsen for their outstanding help during the Canadian Arctic Shelf Exchange Study (CASES) 2003–2004 expedition. We also thank S. Blondeau, A. Forest, and L. Michaud for their variable help during the expedition. This study was supported by the Grant-in-Aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science to M. Fukuchi (No. 11208203) and H. Sasaki (No. 16510010). This is a contribution to the CASES and the Canada Research Chair on the response of marine arctic ecosystems to climate warming.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Senshu University of Ishinomaki, Ishinomaki, Miyagi, 986-8580, Japan

    Ryosuke Makabe, Yuya Ota & Hiroshi Sasaki

  2. National Institute of Polar Research, 9-10, Kaga 1-chome, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-8515, Japan

    Ryosuke Makabe & Mitsuo Fukuchi

  3. Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, 4-4-1 Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima, 739-8528, Japan

    Ryosuke Makabe

  4. Tokai University, 5-1-1-1 Minami-sawa, Minami-ku, Sapporo, 005-8601, Japan

    Hiroshi Hattori

  5. Laval University, Pavillon Vachon, Quebec, QC, G1K 7P4, Canada

    Makoto Sampei & Louis Fortier

Authors
  1. Ryosuke Makabe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hiroshi Hattori
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Makoto Sampei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yuya Ota
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Mitsuo Fukuchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Louis Fortier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Hiroshi Sasaki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ryosuke Makabe.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Makabe, R., Hattori, H., Sampei, M. et al. Regional and seasonal variability of zooplankton collected using sediment traps in the southeastern Beaufort Sea, Canadian Arctic. Polar Biol 33, 257–270 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0701-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0701-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation