Primary productivity by symbiont-bearing planktonic sarcodines (Acantharia, Radiolaria, Foraminifera) in surface waters near Bermuda

Rates of primary productivity by the symbiotic algae of a varietyof planktonic sarcodines (Acantharia, Radiolaria, Foraminifera)were measured at two times of the year in 1991 from surfacewaters of the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda Rates of symbiont production(expressed on a ‘per host’ basis) were not significantlydifferent for the two seasons, but measurements for individualsarcodine species varied by more than four orders of magnitudeand were roughly correlated with sarcodine size (and therebywith the biomass of the protozoan host). Overall, Acanthariahad the lowest production rates per host, while solitary andcolonial Radiolaria displayed the highest rates. Symbiont-bearingplanktonic sarcodines were always microenvironments of highlyconcentrated primary production in this oligotrophic oceanicenvironment. Rates of primary production within the volumesdefined by the extension of the cytoplasmic networks of thesarcodines generally exceeded rates of primary production inequivalent volumes of the seawater surrounding these associationsby more than four orders of magnitude and showed no clear differencesamong the sarcodine groups Total symbiont production, however,contributed a small fraction (generally <1%) of the totalprimary production in surface waters because of relatively lowsarcodine abundances (compared to other primary producers) andbecause of high total primary production in surface waters.Combining the production rates measured in this study with seasonalabundances of Acantharia and Foraminifera, however, indicatesthat these assemblages may have contributed an average of     

Effect of young-of-the-year walleye (Percidae: Stizostedion vitreum) on plankton dynamics and water quality in ponds

To understand the impact of young-of-the-year (YOY) fish on food web dynamics and water quality, we stocked larval walleye (9 mm TL) (Stizostedion vitreum) in six experimental ponds using two fish densities (10 and 50 fish m^–3) with three replicates. At high fish density, the average abundances of cladocerans and copepods and the Secchi depth were lower whereas abundances of rotifers and algae, gross primary productivity (GPP), pH and total phosphorus concentration were higher than at low fish density. Fish impact on bacterial abundance, dissolved oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, however, was not significant. The within treatment measurements of all variables except GPP were significantly different over time. Our results indicate that YOY walleye predation at high density can affect plankton community by reducing large zooplankton biomass and water clarity, and increasing phytoplankton abundance. The impact of YOY piscivorous fish on plankton should be considered when biomanipulation is applied for improvement of water quality.     

Spatial subsidies drive sweet spots of tropical marine biomass production

Spatial subsidies increase local productivity and boost consumer abundance beyond the limits imposed by local resources. In marine ecosystems, deeper water and open ocean subsidies promote animal aggregations and enhance biomass that is critical for human harvesting. However, the scale of this phenomenon in tropical marine systems remains unknown. Here, we integrate a detailed assessment of biomass production in 3 key locations, spanning a major biodiversity and abundance gradient, with an ocean-scale dataset of fish counts to predict the extent and magnitude of plankton subsidies to fishes on coral reefs. We show that planktivorous fish-mediated spatial subsidies are widespread across the Indian and Pacific oceans and drive local spikes in biomass production that can lead to extreme productivity, up to 30 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹. Plankton subsidies form the basis of productivity “sweet spots” where planktivores provide more than 50% of the total fish production, more than all other trophic groups combined. These sweet spots operate at regional, site, and smaller local scales. By harvesting oceanic productivity, planktivores bypass spatial constraints imposed by local primary productivity, creating “oases” of tropical fish biomass that are accessible to humans.

How do tropical oceans sustain high productivity and intense coastal fisheries despite occurring in nutrient-poor oceans? This study shows that spatial subsidies dramatically increase local coral reef productivity across the globe, producing localized ‘sweet-spots’ of concentrated, exceptionally high productivity.     

The Radiolarian biotic response to Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 in the southern part of the Northern proto-Atlantic (Demerara Rise, ODP Leg 207)

Rare Radiolaria occur in the Upper Cenomanian-Lower Turonian part of finely laminated black shales recovered from Sites 1258 and 1261 of Demerara Rise (Ocean Drilling Program Leg 207, western tropical Atlantic, off Surinam). The observed fauna are of a low diversity, with up to 12 species co-occurring in a single sample and 49 species identified in total in both sites. Nassellarians and “Spumellarians” are equally represented in the assemblages. Diverse species of Stichomitra and Theocampe are particularly common, including the two new species described herein: Theocampe costata and T. demeraraense. Radiolarian preservation is on average moderate to poor, suggesting substantial influence of diagenetic alterations to species diversity. The few well-preserved assemblages can potentially provide better information about Cenomanian-Turonian Radiolarian biodiversity, but given their low abundance in the processed sediment samples, the diversity sampled during this study is considered to be an underestimate of the original Radiolarian diversity at Demerara. However, the abundance and diversity of Theocampe in Upper Cenomanian levels is noteworthy. Given the earliest known occurrence of the genus from Upper Albian sediments of the Deep Ivorian Basin it is likely that it originated and diversified in the opening Equatorial Atlantic Gateway. Based on the stable carbon isotope curve, the OAE-2 interval is clearly identified in the sedimentary sequence of both studied sites and helps to specify the known age range of three species (Acanthocircus hueyi, Archaeospongoprunum bipartitum and Rhopalosyringium hispidum). The most intriguing result of this study is the paucity of Radiolaria within the OAE-2 interval of the deeper site (1258) and the total absence of this micro-zooplankton group in the OAE-2 interval of the proximal site (1261). Radiolaria are the most abundant and diverse at the distal Site 1258, below OAE-2, while the proximal Site 1261 contains very few Radiolaria. The opposite pattern is observed above OAE-2 (few Radiolaria at site 1258, more abundant at site 1261). The paucity or absence of Radiolaria within the OAE-2 interval may be due to the upward excursion of the chemocline in the southern part of the Northern proto-Atlantic. Upwelling of deep warm waters may have fuelled primary productivity (sulfate-reducing bacteria) but prevented at the same time micro-zooplankton survival and proliferation after intensification of euxinic conditions in the surface waters.     

Integral patterns of quantitative distribution of mass zooplankton species in Far Eastern seas and the North-western Pacific Ocean basing on the annual mean data of 1984–2006

From 1984 through 2006 altogether 8808 plankton samplings were taken in the Russian Fishery Zone (Sea of Okhotsk, Bering Sea, and North-western Pacific Ocean); in addition 419 samplings were taken in eastern and central areas of the Bering Sea in 2003–2006 in the framework of the BASIS program. These data allowed the composition of maps of the horizontal distribution of zooplankton by fractions, species, and groups of species, which make up the general share of its biomass, as well as the feeding base for nekton. To draw the maps, data were averaged over one-degree squares; gradations were selected in such a way that areas with significantly different abundances contrasted and fine spottiness was leveled. This allowed obtaining a maximally generalized pattern with areas and sites of higher and lower abundances of studied objects, i.e., so-called quasistationary zones, in which dense concentrations of the studied plankters should be expected.     

鲢放养和施肥对盐碱池塘围隔生态系统浮游生物群落的影响

报道了单养链（Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)和施肥对盐碱池塘围隔生态系统浮游生物群落的影响,链的放养使浮游植物丰度,叶绿素a 含量和和初组生产力增大,浮游植物小型化,生物量以小型硅藻和绿藻占优势,裸藻和金藻占有相当比重;浮游动物生物量减少,特别是枝角类的生物量无鱼围隔大于有鱼围隔,且多是较大型的种类,施肥特别是施无机肥能显著地提高浮游植物丰度和初级生产力,浮游动物生物量也增大,施有机肥围隔浮游植物和浮游动物生物量虽高于有鱼对照围隔,但其浮游植物初级生产力,叶绿素a含量,浮游生物多样性指数,P／R系数均较低,链鱼的生长最差,文中讨论了滤食性鱼类和施肥对浮游生物的影响。     

Is the productivity of vegetation plots higher or lower when there are more species? Variable predictions from interaction of the ‘sampling effect’ and ‘competitive dominance effect’ on the habitat templet

Using a habitat templet model, we predict that the productivity (total biomass) of plots within a plant community may be positively, negatively or not at all related to variation in the number of species per plot, depending on successional stage (time since major disturbance) and habitat carrying capacity (reflecting the total resource supplying power of the habitat). For plots of a given size, a positive relationship between productivity and species richness is predicted in recently disturbed habitats because local neighbourhoods here will have been assembled largely stochastically, usually from a pool of available species with a right‐skewed size frequency distribution. Hence, in the earliest stages of succession, plots will have relatively high total biomass only if they contain at least some of the relatively uncommon larger species which will, in turn, be more likely in those neighbourhoods that contain more species (the sampling effect). Among these will also be some of the more common smaller species; hence, these high biomass, species‐rich plots should have relatively low species evenness, in contrast to what is predicted under effects involving species complementarity. In late succession, the plots with high total biomass will still be those that contain relatively large species but these plots will now contain relatively few species owing to increased competitive exclusion over time (the competitive dominance effect). In intermediate stages of succession, no relationship between plot productivity and species richness is predicted because the opposing sampling and competitive dominance effects cancel each other out. We predict that the intensity of both the sampling and competitive dominance effects on the productivity/species richness relationship will decrease with decreasing habitat carrying capacity (e.g. decreasing substrate fertility) owing to the inherently lower variance in between‐plot productivity that is predicted for more resource‐impoverished habitats.     

Phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary patterns of the order Collodaria (Radiolaria)

Collodaria are the only group of Radiolaria that has a colonial lifestyle. This group is potentially the most important plankton in the oligotrophic ocean because of its large biomass and the high primary productivity associated with the numerous symbionts inside a cell or colony. The evolution of Collodaria could thus be related to the changes in paleo-productivity that have affected organic carbon fixation in the oligotrophic ocean. However, the fossil record of Collodaria is insufficient to trace their abundance through geological time, because most collodarians do not have silicified shells. Recently, molecular phylogeny based on nuclear small sub-unit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) confirmed Collodaria to be one of five orders of Radiolaria, though the relationship among collodarians is still unresolved because of inadequate taxonomic sampling. Our phylogenetic analysis has revealed four novel collodarian sequences, on the basis of which collodarians can be divided into four clades that correspond to taxonomic grouping at the family level: Thalassicollidae, Collozoidae, Collosphaeridae, and Collophidae. Comparison of the results of our phylogenetic analyses with the morphological characteristics of each collodarian family suggests that the first ancestral collodarians had a solitary lifestyle and left no silica deposits. The timing of events estimated from molecular divergence calculations indicates that naked collodarian lineages first appeared around 45.6 million years (Ma) ago, coincident with the diversification of diatoms in the pelagic oceans. Colonial collodarians appeared after the formation of the present ocean circulation system and the development of oligotrophic conditions in the equatorial Pacific (ca. 33.4 Ma ago). The divergence of colonial collodarians probably caused a shift in the efficiency of primary production during this period.     

Seasonal and Spatial Overlap between Cladocerans in Humic Lakes

Seasonal and vertical distribution, migratory patterns and reproductive effort in coexisting cladocerans were investigated in three humic lakes with different, but low phytoplankton abundances and varying fish predation pressure. Seasonal and vertical habitat or niche overlap varied, but were high within most pairs of species in all localities. Migration was conspicuous in presence of planktivorous fish, less so in the fish free lake. Despite algal densities below incipient limiting level (30–200 μg C I⁻¹) and a low ratio (3–10) of algal to cladoceran biomass, zooplankton distribution and reproductive parameters were not clearly related to algal biomass. Bacterial biomass equalled 10–50% of phytoplankton biomass, while detritus by far was the largest of the particulate compartements. It was concluded that with a possible exception of the early summer algal bloom, additional carbon sources (bacteria, detritus) are important to cladoceran nutrition in these humic lakes. A large share of N- and P-poor detritus in the diet would give zooplankton productivity limitation by food quality in terms of elemental composition rather than food quantity. This would permit coexistence even of species with rather high food overlap, but give low production rates for all species in agreement with the observations.     

Extinction rate, historical population structure and ecological role of the Caribbean monk seal

The productivity and biomass of pristine coral reef ecosystems is poorly understood, particularly in the Caribbean where communities have been impacted by overfishing and multiple other stressors over centuries. Using historical data on the spatial distribution and abundance of the extinct Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis), this study reconstructs the population size, structure and ecological role of this once common predator within coral reef communities, and provides evidence that historical reefs supported biomasses of fishes and invertebrates up to six times greater than those found on typical modern Caribbean reefs. An estimated 233,000-338,000 monk seals were distributed among 13 colonies across the Caribbean. The biomass of reef fishes and invertebrates required to support historical seal populations was 732-1018 gm(-2) of reefs, which exceeds that found on any Caribbean reef today and is comparable with those measured in remote Pacific reefs. Quantitative estimates of historically dense monk seal colonies and their consumption rates on pristine reefs provide concrete data on the magnitude of decline in animal biomass on Caribbean coral reefs. Realistic reconstruction of these past ecosystems is critical to understanding the profound and long-lasting effect of human hunting on the functioning of coral reef ecosystems.     

Plant species richness,identity and productivity differentially influence key groups of microbes in grassland soils of contrasting fertility

The abundance of microbes in soil is thought to be strongly influenced by plant productivity rather than by plant species richness per se. However, whether this holds true for different microbial groups and under different soil conditions is unresolved. We tested how plant species richness, identity and biomass influence the abundances of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), saprophytic bacteria and fungi, and actinomycetes, in model plant communities in soil of low and high fertility using phospholipid fatty acid analysis. Abundances of saprophytic fungi and bacteria were driven by larger plant biomass in high diversity treatments. In contrast, increased AMF abundance with larger plant species richness was not explained by plant biomass, but responded to plant species identity and was stimulated by Anthoxantum odoratum. Our results indicate that the abundance of saprophytic soil microbes is influenced more by resource quantity, as driven by plant production, while AMF respond more strongly to resource composition, driven by variation in plant species richness and identity. This suggests that AMF abundance in soil is more sensitive to changes in plant species diversity per se and plant species composition than are abundances of saprophytic microbes.     

Increased Soil Frost Versus Summer Drought as Drivers of Plant Biomass Responses to Reduced Precipitation: Results from a Globally Coordinated Field Experiment

Reduced precipitation treatments often are used in field experiments to explore the effects of drought on plant productivity and species composition. However, in seasonally snow-covered regions reduced precipitation also reduces snow cover, which can increase soil frost depth, decrease minimum soil temperatures and increase soil freeze–thaw cycles. Therefore, in addition to the effects of reduced precipitation on plants via drought, freezing damage to overwintering plant tissues at or below the soil surface could further affect plant productivity and relative species abundances during the growing season. We examined the effects of both reduced rainfall (via rain-out shelters) and reduced snow cover (via snow removal) at 13 sites globally (primarily grasslands) within the framework of the International Drought Experiment, a coordinated distributed experiment. Plant cover was estimated at the species level, and aboveground biomass was quantified at the functional group level. Among sites, we observed a negative correlation between the snow removal effect on minimum soil temperature and plant biomass production the next growing season. Three sites exhibited significant rain-out shelter effects on plant productivity, but there was no correlation among sites between the rain-out shelter effect on minimum soil moisture and plant biomass. There was no interaction between snow removal and rain-out shelters for plant biomass, although these two factors only exhibited significant effects simultaneously for a single site. Overall, our results reveal that reduced snowfall, when it decreases minimum soil temperatures, can be an important component of the total effect of reduced precipitation on plant productivity.     

罗非鱼对盐碱池塘围隔浮游生物群落的影响

本文报道了单养尼罗罗非鱼 (Orecohromisniloticus)对施肥处理下盐碱池塘围隔生态系统浮游生物群落的影响。结果表明 ,罗非鱼的放养使浮游植物丰度、叶绿素a含量和初级生产力增大 ,浮游植物小型化 ,生物量以小型硅藻和绿藻占优势 ,裸藻占有相当比重 ;浮游动物生物量也增大 ,桡足类占优势 ,枝角类小型化 ,原生动物密度增大。施肥特别是施有机肥能显著地提高浮游植物生物量 ,使透明度降低 ,但施无机肥对初级生产力和浮游动物生物量影响不大。施有机肥围隔浮游植物和浮游动物密度、浮游动物生物量和浮游生物多样性指数高于其他有鱼围隔 ,罗非鱼的生长最好。文后讨论了罗非鱼滤食和施肥对浮游生物群落结构的影响 ,并与鲢鱼的实验结果 (赵文 ,1999)进行了比较     

Is There a Seamount Effect on Microbial Community Structure and Biomass? The Case Study of Seine and Sedlo Seamounts (Northeast Atlantic)

Seamounts are considered to be "hotspots" of marine life but, their role in oceans primary productivity is still under discussion. We have studied the microbial community structure and biomass of the epipelagic zone (0-150 m) at two northeast Atlantic seamounts (Seine and Sedlo) and compared those with the surrounding ocean. Results from two cruises to Sedlo and three to Seine are presented. Main results show large temporal and spatial microbial community variability on both seamounts. Both Seine and Sedlo heterotrophic community (abundance and biomass) dominate during winter and summer months, representing 75% (Sedlo, July) to 86% (Seine, November) of the total plankton biomass. In Seine, during springtime the contribution to total plankton biomass is similar (47% autotrophic and 53% heterotrophic). Both seamounts present an autotrophic community structure dominated by small cells (nano and picophytoplankton). It is also during spring that a relatively important contribution (26%) of large cells to total autotrophic biomass is found. In some cases, a "seamount effect" is observed on Seine and Sedlo microbial community structure and biomass. In Seine this is only observed during spring through enhancement of large autotrophic cells at the summit and seamount stations. In Sedlo, and despite the observed low biomasses, some clear peaks of picoplankton at the summit or at stations within the seamount area are also observed during summer. Our results suggest that the dominance of heterotrophs is presumably related to the trapping effect of organic matter by seamounts. Nevertheless, the complex circulation around both seamounts with the presence of different sources of mesoscale variability (e.g. presence of meddies, intrusion of African upwelling water) may have contributed to the different patterns of distribution, abundances and also changes observed in the microbial community.     

Across species‐pool aggregation alters grassland productivity and diversity

Plant performance is determined by the balance of intra‐ and interspecific neighbors within an individual's zone of influence. If individuals interact over smaller scales than the scales at which communities are measured, then altering neighborhood interactions may fundamentally affect community responses. These interactions can be altered by changing the number (species richness), abundances (species evenness), and positions (species pattern) of the resident plant species, and we aimed to test whether aggregating species at planting would alter effects of species richness and evenness on biomass production at a common scale of observation in grasslands. We varied plant species richness (2, 4, or 8 species and monocultures), evenness (0.64, 0.8, or 1.0), and pattern (planted randomly or aggregated in groups of four individuals) within 1 × 1 m plots established with transplants from a pool of 16 tallgrass prairie species and assessed plot‐scale biomass production and diversity over the first three growing seasons. As expected, more species‐rich plots produced more biomass by the end of the third growing season, an effect associated with a shift from selection to complementarity effects over time. Aggregating conspecifics at a 0.25‐m scale marginally reduced biomass production across all treatments and increased diversity in the most even plots, but did not alter biodiversity effects or richness–productivity relationships. Results support the hypothesis that fine‐scale species aggregation affects diversity by promoting species coexistence in this system. However, results indicate that inherent changes in species neighborhood relationships along grassland diversity gradients may only minimally affect community (meter) – scale responses among similarly designed biodiversity–ecosystem function studies. Given that species varied in their responses to local aggregation, it may be possible to use such species‐specific results to spatially design larger‐scale grassland communities to achieve desired diversity and productivity responses.     

The colonization of two Phaeocystis species (Prymnesiophyceae) by pennate diatoms and other protists: a significant contribution to colony biomass

The association of Phaeocystis spp. with small pennate diatoms during three Phaeocystis-dominated spring blooms were investigated in the Eastern English Channel (2003 and 2004) and in coastal waters of Western Norway during a mesocosm experiment (2005). In each of these studies, colonization of the surface of large Phaeocystis spp. colonies by small needle-shaped diatoms (Pseudo-nitzschia spp.) were observed. In the English Channel the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima colonized the surface of large (>100 μm) Phaeocystis globosa colonies. The abundance of Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima reached 130 cells per colony and formed up to 70% of the total carbon associated with Phaeocystis cells during late bloom stages. In Norwegian waters, the surface of large (>250 μm) Phaeocystis pouchetii colonies were colonized by Pseudo-nitzschia cf. granii var. curvata and to a lesser degree by other phytoplankton and protist species, although the abundance of these diatoms was never greater than 40 cells per colony. Based on these observations we suggest that diatoms utilize Phaeocystis colonies not only as habitat, but that they are able to utilize the colonial matrix as a growth substrate. Furthermore, these observations indicate that a considerable fraction of biomass (chlorophyll) associated with Phaeocystis colonies, especially large colonies concerned with intense and prolonged blooms, are due to co-occurring plankton species and not exclusively Phaeocystis cells.     

VARIATION IN BENTHIC DIATOM (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE) IMMIGRATION WITH HABITAT CHARACTERISTICS AND CELL MORPHOLOGY1

We studied the hypothesis that diatom immigration abilities are related to their fitness for colonizing stream substrates. Diatom abundances on artificial substrates exposed for 24 h (the measure of immigration rate) and abundances of stream plankton were determined in six habitats. Diatom immigration varied among habitats from 50–2500 cells·cm^?2·d^?1. Immigration rates decreased 10-fold with increases in current from 10 to 30 cm·s^?1 but changed little during a 40-d summer period. Immigration abilities of diatom taxa were characterized as ratios of either their abundances or relative abundances in immigration assemblages versus in the plankton. Immigration abilities varied over 100-fold among different species. Immigration of some species could be characterized as slower than others in different streams; however, variation in immigration abilities of other species among streams indicated that environment also affected immigration. Diurnal variation in abundance and species composition of the immigration pool (stream plankton) can be important in assessing immigration abilities. Immigration ability may affect benthic diatom fitness. Monoraphid diatoms had a lower probability of immigrating from the plankton than araphid diatoms.     

Non-colonial coral macro-borers as indicators of coral reef status in the South Pacific of Costa Rica

Coral reef status was surveyed in three south Pacific coral reefs of Costa Rica, one in Ca?o Island and two in Golfo Dulce, and the density, richness and distribution of non-colonial macro borers (> 1 mm) was determined in dead and live coral fragments from these reefs. Based upon traditional indicators of degradation such as high particulate suspended matter and low live coral cover, the reefs at Ca?o Island are in better condition than those at Golfo Dulce. Reef degradation in Golfo Dulce is mainly due to high loads of terrestrial sediments as a consequence of watersheds deforestation. In this study, 36 coral boring species are reported for the eastern Pacific. At the family level, there is high endemism (10%) and greater affinity with the Indo-Pacific (34%), as compared with the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean (29%) and western Atlantic and Caribbean (27%). The dominant non-colonial macro boring families at the study reefs are mytilid bivalves, eunicid polychaetes and aspidosiphonid sipunculans, with the bivalves considered the main internal bioeroders due to their greater body size and abundances. The level of mortality of the coral colonies and the general level of reef degradation influenced the composition of non-colonial macro-borers. Diversity and total macro-borer density, especially aspidosiphonid density, is higher in corals with greates dead than live cover. In the healthiest coral colonies (less than 50% of partial mortality), mytilids domination, macro-borer diversity and total density, is higher in Golfo Dulce, where reefs are more degraded. In the most affected coral colonies (more than 50% dead), macro-borers total density, especially aspidosiphonids density, is higher, of the healthiest reef of this study, Platanillo. Bivalve relative abundance increases and sipunculan relative abundance decreases with increasing site degradation. In conclusion bioeroder variables can also be used as reef health indicators.     

Biodiversity variability of macrobenthic in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea between 2001 and 2011

In this study, we compared the biodiversity and ecological status of macrobenthos between 2001 and 2011 in terms of species composition, dominant species, abundance, biomass, diversity, and secondary productivity of macrobenthos in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. The results indicate that the species abundances, biomass, and diversity in spring 2011 were all lower than those in autumn 2000 and spring of 2001. Most of the dominant species have changed from 2001 to 2011, with the exception of the echinoderm Ophiura sarsii vadicola that was dominant in these years. Small-sized animal species have increased possibly due to gradual environment deterioration such as the pollution and the climate warmer.     

Environmental conditions and compositions of plankton and nekton in the epipelagic zone of the northwestern Pacific Ocean in summer 2009, the year of the largest spawning migration of pink and Chum Salmon

The distribution of temperature, salinity, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and nekton, including Pink Salmon and Chum Salmon, is analyzed based on the data from a complex survey conducted in the upper epipelagic zone of the northwestern Pacific Ocean in June–July 2009. An estimate of water transfer, plankton biomass (by size fractions and taxonomic groups), and biomass and abundance of nekton is made. The water circulation pattern was notable for the “compressed” state of the Western Subarctic Gyre. Copepods predominated in zooplankton (60.8% biomass), and Pacific Salmon dominated in the nekton. The ratio of the plankton biomass to the nekton biomass in various biostatistical areas varied from 23.9 to 195.1 (mean 46.7). It was found that the nekton biomass in the area of the spreading subarctic waters reaches its maximum in the summer months and that in the area of subtropical waters reaches its maximum in the fall. In the upper 30-meter layer, the biomass of fish and squid rose during the night to 2.92 million tons, or 1.6 times as much, due to mesopelagic migrants. The nekton communities of the upper epipelagic of the northwestern Pacific Ocean functioned normally, providing a high level of biological and fish productivity.