Movement of plankton through lake-stream systems

1. River plankton are often assumed to come from upstream lakes, but the factors controlling the movement of plankton between lakes and rivers into outflow streams are unclear. We tested the possibility that the physical structure of the littoral zone near the lake outlet (depth, presence of macrophytes) and diurnal differences in plankton composition at the lake surface influence the movement of plankton from the lake into the stream and determine their persistence downstream. 2. Zooplankton and phytoplankton biomass, community composition and mean body size were compared between two deep lakes without macrophytes at the lake edge and two shallow lakes with macrophytes at the lake edge. Samples were collected day and night on three dates, in the lake centre, in the littoral zone adjacent to the lake outlet, at the outlet and at two sites downstream in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada. 3. The morphology of lake edges clearly affects the movement of lake zooplankton into outlet streams. Outlets draining deeper littoral zones had higher zooplankton biomass than shallow littoral outlets (P < 0.0001), but these differences disappeared within 50 m downstream of the lake. There was no difference in mean zooplankton body size among lake outlets or between littoral and outlet samples. However, shallow littoral zones were dominated by cyclopoid copepods and deeper littoral zones were dominated by Bosmina longirostris. In contrast, phytoplankton biomass entering the outlet was similar to that found within the lake and did not vary with lake outlet morphology. These effects were consistent across several sampling weeks and were not affected by surface zooplankton biomass changes associated with diurnal vertical migration in the lake centre. 4. A comparison with published river zooplankton data suggests that zooplankton are rapidly eliminated from shallow outlet streams (≤1 m deep) but persist in most deeper outlet rivers (≥2 m deep). Because the depth of an outlet river determines downstream zooplankton community development, the contribution of lakes to river plankton communities may be influenced by the location of each lake within the drainage basin. These findings suggest that lake and outflow physical structure influences connection strength between spatially successive habitats.     

Zooplankton distribution and diversity in a frontal area of the Aegean Sea

This study was carried out in the northern Aegean Sea during late summer and spring. The aim was to examine the spatial and temporal distribution of the zooplankton community across a dynamic frontal area and to investigate how the oceanographic heterogeneity structures the composition of the zooplankton assemblages. The low-salinity and cold Black Sea water coming from the Dardanelles Strait is modified by mixing with the underlying warm and saline Aegean water. These hydrological features result in a pronounced thermohaline front in the northern Aegean Sea throughout the year. In both seasons, zooplankton was collected using both 45 and 200 µm mesh plankton nets. A high abundance of zooplankton was observed in the surface layer at the stations closest to the Dardanelles Strait on the stratified side of the front. The zooplankton distribution and community structure in the northern Aegean Sea were strongly influenced by the hydrological features. The frontal structure acts as a boundary for the zooplankton community. The surface layer at the stratified stations had the lowest copepod diversity, from where it increased with depth and horizontally as the stratification weakened outside of the front. The total abundance of zooplankton collected with the 200 µm net was between two and 20 times lower than samples taken with the 45 µm net. The most pronounced differences were observed for the adults and copepodids of the small genera Oithona, Oncaea and Microsetella. Thus, to manage and understand the transfer of primary production up the food chain in the Aegean Sea, the smaller fraction of copepods should be taken into account in future investigations.     

Depth profiles of plankton,particulate organic matter and microbial activity in the eastern Canadian Arctic during summer

Summary Deep profiles of particulate organic matter, microplankton (phytoplankton and bacteria), zooplankton and their metabolic activities were investigated during two summer voyages to the eastern Canadian Arctic. Magnitudes and depth distributions were similar in many respects to observations from temperate and tropical waters. Strong gradients in most properties were observed in the upper 50–100 m and subsurface maxima were generally associated with the upper mixed-layer (>50 m). In addition to the general vertical decreases in plankton biomass and metabolic activity there was evidence for both rapid transport (sinking) of organic matter and for enhanced (above background) levels of microbial metabolic activity in deep waters (>500 m). Zooplankton depth distributions differed from the pattern generally observed at lower latitudes; in the Arctic, zooplankton abundance decreased to a lesser degree with depth than particulate organics and microplankton. The overwintering behavior of high-latitude zooplankton appeared to be the best explanation for their relatively high abundance at depth. Despite this, however, zooplankton apparently contributed little to the total column community metabolism.     

清河水库的浮游生物

根据1970,1973,1974,1977,1978和1979年17次采样测定的结果,清河水库浮游植物量平均约6毫克/升,其中硅藻占58.6%,甲藻占25.9%。浮游动物量平均1.95毫克/升,其中桡足类约占44%,枝角类约40%,轮虫和原生动物约16%。浮游植物量上游和中游接近而远高于下游,一般秋季高于其他季节,但1978年夏季特别高。浮游动物量也是中游和上游通常高于下游,夏季最高,秋季次之。在生物量中占优势的主要种类有:颗粒直链藻、扭曲小环藻、隐藻、角甲藻、剑水蚤及其无节幼体、象鼻溞、长刺溞、多肢轮虫等。文中讨论了浮游生物分布和变化的某些规律和水库的营养类型及鲢鳙鱼的生产潜力。       

El Niño 1997-1998 impact on the plankton dynamics in the Gulf of Nicoya, Pacific coast of Costa Rica

The impact of the El Ni?o 1997-1998 phenomenom on plankton dynamics was studied during 1997 at the Punta Morales estuary, Gulf of Nicoya, Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The study covered dry season/transition and the rainy season. Phytoplankton (microphytoplankton > 30 microm and nanophytoplankton) were collected at two depths (50 and 10% light incidence) using a 5 L Niskin bottle, and samples taken to determine chlorophyll a. Temperature, salinity, oxygen, and Secchi depth were measured. Horizontal sub-surface zooplankton hauls were conducted with a conic zooplankton net of 0.49 m diameter and 280 microm mesh width, supplied with a flowmeter. Surface sea water temperature average was 29.9 +/- 0.9 degrees C, with a maximum of 31.5 degrees C in April and a minimun of 28 degrees C in March and October. Chlorophyll a concentration (phytoplankton net) averaged 3.1 +/- 1.7 mg/m3, with higher values during the rainy season and lower values during the transition. Nanophytoplankton chlorophyll a concentration averaged 2.5 +/- 1.2 mg/m3, with a maximum during the transition season. For both fractions there were significant differences between transition and rainy seasons, and for nanophytoplankton between dry and transition seasons (p < 0.05). In the last case, differences were explained by temperature. Herbivorous copepods dominated the abundance and biomass of zooplankton, with a biomass maximun of 167.3 in October and a minimun of 7.1 mg DW/m3 in December. These values are higher than those found some years ago in the same zone and those reported for some places in the Caribbean. The El Ni?o 1997-1998 phenomenon in the plankton dynamics appears to have produced a change in the phytoplankton structure. This is the first attempt to evaluate the possible impact of El Ni?o on the plankton dynamics of the Pacific coast of Central America.     

The limnology of “Swetganga” — A thermal spring of Bakreswar,West Bengal,India

Summary The results of the limnological investigations of Swetganga, one of the thermal springs of Bakreswar, West Bengal, India, have formed the basis of this paper. The samples of water were collected eleven times from the month of September '67 to October '68 at regular intervals for analysis. The physical conditions like depth, temperature and chemical factors like pH, free carbon dioxide, phenolphthalein alkalinity, total alkalinity, total hardness, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, silicate and dissolved oxygen were determined. A qualitative and quantitative analysis of plankton was also made.The water of the Kund was found to be distinctly alkaline on all occasions. Since free carbon dioxide was absent in all samples, phenolphthalein alkalinity was always recorded in appreciable quantities.The lower values of chloride were noted only during the monsoon months due to the dilution of water by the rain. The silicate content showed erratic fluctuations. Large amounts of phosphate were always present in the Kund. The absence of nitrite and traces of nitrate throughout, is a characteristic feature of this thermal spring.An attempt has been made, whenever possible, to attribute the reason of the changes and also to correlate the plankton blooms with the chemical factors. The coefficient of correlation between total alkalinity and phytoplankton (–0.529) indicates a negative correlation, significant at the 10 per cent level. No significant relation between phytoplankton and pH values (r = 0.183) has been observed. An apparent inverse relation between dissolved oxygen and phytoplankton has been noted.A list of phytoplankton and zooplankton has been incorporated. Total phytoplankton varied between 8.91 per cent and 100 per cent and the zooplankton between nil and 91.08 per cent of the total plankton bulk.     

Comparative analysis of genome fragments of Acidobacteria from deep Mediterranean plankton

Acidobacteria constitute a still poorly studied phylum that is well represented in soils. Recent studies suggest that members of this phylum may be also abundant in deep-sea plankton, but their relative abundance and ecological role in this ecosystem are completely unknown. A recent screening of three metagenomic deep-sea libraries of bathypelagic plankton from the South Atlantic (1000 m depth), the Adriatic (1000 m depth) and the Ionian (3000 m depth) seas in the Mediterranean revealed an unexpected relative proportion of acidobacterial fosmids, which affiliated to the Solibacterales (Group 3), to the Group 11 and, most frequently, to the Group 6 of this diverse phylum. Here, we present the comparative analysis of 11 acidobacterial genome fragments containing the rrn operon from these Mediterranean libraries. A highly conserved syntenic region spanning up to 30 kb and containing up to 25 open reading frames was shared by Group 6 Acidobacteria. Synteny was also partially conserved in distantly related acidobacterial genome fragments derived from a metagenomic soil library, indicating a remarkable conservation of this genomic region within these Acidobacteria. A search for Acidobacteria-specific hits in directly comparable, available fosmid-end sequences from soil and marine metagenomic libraries showed a significant increase of their relative proportion in plankton libraries as a function of increasing depth reaching, at high depth, levels nearly comparable to those of soil. Thus, our results suggest that Acidobacteria are abundant and represent a significant proportion of the microbial community in the deep-sea ecosystem.     

Limnetic zooplankton run-off a high-head dam and their fate in a river with high current velocity (case of the Krasnoiarsk hydroelectric power station on the Yenisei river

The vertical distribution of net zooplankton in head-water of Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power station and its horizontal distribution in the tail-water were studied during two years in winter and summer seasons. In order to distinguish living and dead individuals the special staining was used. It was revealed that on average 77% of living plankton pass through high-head dam with deep water scoop to the tailwater. While passing through dam aggregates some individuals of the reservoir plankton are traumatized and die, that results in some increase of portion of dead individuals in the tail water near dam (from 3 to 6%). Alive zooplankton passed through the dam aggregates is eliminated under the Upper Yenisei highly turbulent conditions. There is approximately 10% of it in 32 km from the dam if compare with biomass in 20-40 m layer of reservoir, the portion of dead increases to 11%. The biomass of zooplankton suspended in the water column of the tail-water sometimes increases (till > 1 g/m3) due to large Copepoda Heteroscope borealis, which inhabits near-bottom and near-shore river zones and can be found in the central part of the river during reproductive period. Limnetic zooplankton from the reservoir cannot be considered as important food for planktivores in the tail-water.     

Pre-winter distribution and habitat characteristics of polar cod (Boreogadus saida) in southeastern Beaufort Sea

Polar cod was shown to form dense under-ice winter aggregations at depth in the Amundsen Gulf (southeastern Beaufort Sea). In this paper, we verify the premises of the aggregation mechanism by determining the distribution and habitat characteristics of polar cod prior to the formation of winter aggregations. Multifrequency split-beam acoustic data collected in October–November 2003 revealed that polar cod split into two distinct layers. Age-0 polar cod formed an epipelagic layer between 0 and ~60 m depth without any clear large-scale biomass trend. In contrast, adult polar cod tended to distribute into an offshore mesopelagic layer between ~200 and 400 m that shoaled into a denser (1–37 g m^?2) benthopelagic layer on sloping bottoms (between 150 and 600-m isobaths) along the Mackenzie shelf and into the Amundsen Gulf basin. Concentrations peaked in the Amundsen Gulf where estimated total biomass reached ~250 kt. Both age-0 and adult polar cod distributed in the warmer waters (>?1.4 °C). We hypothesise that polar cod concentration over slopes is governed by the combined actions of (1) local currents concentrating both depth-keeping zooplankton and polar cod at the shelf-break and basin slopes and (2) trophic association with these predictable topographically trapped aggregations of zooplankton prey. During freeze-up, these slope concentrations of polar cod are thought to constitute the main source of the observed dense under-ice winter aggregations. The hypothesis of active short-distance displacements combined with prevailing mean currents is retained as the likely aggregation mechanism.     

A statistical method for the robust detection of interannual changes in plankton abundance: analysis of monitoring data from the Bay of Fundy, Canada

Plankton abundance time series were analysed with an emphasison the detection of interannual variability. These data coveredthe period 1988–1999 and were collected in the westernBay of Fundy, Canada as part of an ongoing regional monitoringprogram. The abundance observations considered here were obtainedfrom water samples at a single station (44°59.57'N, 66°44.36'W)and at four depths (0, 10, 25 and 50 m). The analysis was basedon log-transformed abundance of the taxonomic groups diatoms,dinoflagellates and zooplankton. The time-varying abundancelevel and its error variance were estimated using a statisticaltime series method designed for the identification of interannualvariability using irregularly sampled and noisy data. To thisend, plankton abundance measurements were fitted to a cyclicmodel using a Kalman filter and associated fixed interval smoother.Maximum likelihood procedures were used to determine all unknownsystem parameters. The model provided a good fit to these dataand allowed identification of year to year changes in the timingand magnitude of the annual abundance cycle. The greatest interannualvariability was found in the dinoflagellates and diatoms, withonly slight changes in the zooplankton. It was shown that whilethe annual cycle is readily determined from the observations,interannual variations were near the detection limit. For muchof the study period, plankton abundance was not statisticallydistinguishable from a fixed and repeating mean annual cycleat the 90% confidence level. However, during many time periodsdinoflagellates and diatoms, and to a lesser extent zooplankton,exhibited significant interannual variations in abundance. Aretrospective analysis of the monitoring program suggested thatto achieve robust detection of interannual abundance changes,the variability associated with the water sample based pointmeasurements must be decreased, either through replication,more frequent sampling, or alternative sampling methodologies.     

Adhesion of Enterococcus faecalis in the Nonculturable State to Plankton Is the Main Mechanism Responsible for Persistence of This Bacterium in both Lake and Seawater

The presence of enterococci in lake and seawater in an 18-month survey comparing molecular (PCR and quantitative PCR) and culture methods was evaluated, as well as the possibility that zooplankton could act as reservoirs for enterococci. Samples of both water and zooplankton were collected monthly from a Lake Garda site and an Adriatic Sea site. In lake water, the positive samples numbered 13 of 54 (24%) by culture and 32 of 54 (59%) when PCR was applied. In seawater, they numbered 0 of 51 by culture and 18 of 51 (35%) by PCR. Enterococci were found either totally bound to plankton or totally in water, depending on the presence or absence of plankton, respectively. These results clearly indicate that the PCR assay is a powerful tool for detecting fecal indicators and pathogens in the environment, thus providing a much more sensitive method than culture.     

Adhesion of Enterococcus faecalis in the nonculturable state to plankton is the main mechanism responsible for persistence of this bacterium in both lake and seawater

The presence of enterococci in lake and seawater in an 18-month survey comparing molecular (PCR and quantitative PCR) and culture methods was evaluated, as well as the possibility that zooplankton could act as reservoirs for enterococci. Samples of both water and zooplankton were collected monthly from a Lake Garda site and an Adriatic Sea site. In lake water, the positive samples numbered 13 of 54 (24%) by culture and 32 of 54 (59%) when PCR was applied. In seawater, they numbered 0 of 51 by culture and 18 of 51 (35%) by PCR. Enterococci were found either totally bound to plankton or totally in water, depending on the presence or absence of plankton, respectively. These results clearly indicate that the PCR assay is a powerful tool for detecting fecal indicators and pathogens in the environment, thus providing a much more sensitive method than culture.     

A simple method of feeding coregonid larvae on frozen zooplankton

7 days old larvae of Coregonus lavaretus L. (local name: ‘Blaufelchen’) were fed on zooplankton that had been frozen at—18°C for 1 year. 4 times per day the pieces of frozen plankton were added into the preaeration tank thus providing that freshly thawed zooplankters were offered to the fish. Within 10 weeks the fish reached a total length of 30.5 ± 5.5 ram and an average dry weight of 22 mg. Within this period the survival was 45 % of the initial number. After a period of 7 weeks feeding on long-term frozen pankton 400 fish were switched to living zooplankton and after 9 weeks 400 fish were switched to short-term frozen plankton. The growth of those fish that were fed on living plankton was significantly faster than it was when frozen zooplankton was given. A switch of coregonids which were prefed on frozen zooplankton to dry diet proved to be successful as soon as the fish had reached a body length of 40 mm.     

Vertical gradients in species richness and community composition across the twilight zone in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

Although metazoan animals in the mesopelagic zone play critical roles in deep pelagic food webs and in the attenuation of carbon in midwaters, the diversity of these assemblages is not fully known. A metabarcoding survey of mesozooplankton diversity across the epipelagic, mesopelagic and upper bathypelagic zones (0–1500 m) in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre revealed far higher estimates of species richness than expected given prior morphology‐based studies in the region (4,024 OTUs, 10‐fold increase), despite conservative bioinformatic processing. Operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness of the full assemblage peaked at lower epipelagic–upper mesopelagic depths (100–300 m), with slight shoaling of maximal richness at night due to diel vertical migration, in contrast to expectations of a deep mesopelagic diversity maximum as reported for several plankton groups in early systematic and zoogeographic studies. Four distinct depth‐stratified species assemblages were identified, with faunal transitions occurring at 100 m, 300 m and 500 m. Highest diversity occurred in the smallest zooplankton size fractions (0.2–0.5 mm), which had significantly lower % OTUs classified due to poor representation in reference databases, suggesting a deep reservoir of poorly understood diversity in the smallest metazoan animals. A diverse meroplankton assemblage also was detected (350 OTUs), including larvae of both shallow and deep living benthic species. Our results provide some of the first insights into the hidden diversity present in zooplankton assemblages in midwaters, and a molecular reappraisal of vertical gradients in species richness, depth distributions and community composition for the full zooplankton assemblage across the epipelagic, mesopelagic and upper bathypelagic zones.     

东海大陆架外缘和大陆坡深海渔场浮游动物研究——Ⅰ.生物量

本文首次描述了本海区中浮游动物生物量及其分布。其平均生物量为41毫克/米~3,仅及东海西部沿海生物量的四分之一,从而表示了一般大洋性的特征。 生物量随水深增加而逐渐下降,其所下降的近似值能以对数关系值表示: logY=α-k~z Y是生物量(湿重),Z是深度, α是常数,k是递减系数。 y=α'e~(-kz) 在东海海槽深海区内,在从表层至100米以内浅水层中,平均生物量为75毫克/米~3,但自500米至2170米水层中,其生物量仅及其上层生物量的1/10或1/20。其变化也可以下列公式来表示: y=58.886e~(-2.074×10~(-3)z) r=-0.7558 r是相关系数。 本文还对浮游动物生物量和渔业水文等之间的关系作了阐述。     

Direct detection of Vibrio cholerae and ctxA in Peruvian coastal water and plankton by PCR

Seawater and plankton samples were collected over a period of 17 months from November 1998 to March 2000 along the coast of Peru. Total DNA was extracted from water and from plankton grouped by size into two fractions (64 micro m to 202 micro m and >202 micro m). All samples were assayed for Vibrio cholerae, V. cholerae O1, V. cholerae O139, and ctxA by PCR. Of 50 samples collected and tested, 33 (66.0%) were positive for V. cholerae in at least one of the three fractions. Of these, 62.5% (n = 32) contained V. cholerae O1; ctxA was detected in 25% (n = 20) of the V. cholerae O1-positive samples. None were positive for V. cholerae O139. Thus, PCR was successfully employed in detecting toxigenic V. cholerae directly in seawater and plankton samples and provides evidence for an environmental reservoir for this pathogen in Peruvian coastal waters.     

Mid-Po River zooplankton

The temporal crustacean-zooplankton variation in the mid-Po River (Italy) was analyzed from November 1974 through November 1982. Samples were collected at three stations at monthly intervals.Separate taxon-by-taxon multiple regression analyses (MLTRG) were carried out with zooplankton taxa as the criterion variable and river depth, river discharge and water temperature as the predictor variables. Moina brachiata and Eucyclops serrulatus were correlated with water temperature, Cyclops vicinus inversely correlated with temperature, Eudiaptomus padanus, C. vicinus and Daphniidae with river discharge; Copepodites inversely correlated with river depth.MLTRG showed that water temperature and river discharge account for about 15% of total zooplankton variation.Factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out on residuals calculated from MLTRG. Among-years and among-months variation were significant for all the examined taxa. Significant years × months interactions indicated that seasonal variations were also different in different years.ANOVA stressed that there were still unexplained significant residuals in years and months variations.Weekly and daily samples collected in Summer 1979 were submitted to MLTRG and ANOVA as above. Among-week variations were significant for all the examined taxa, whereas among-days were significant for Daphiidae and M. brachiata (Cladocera), and not significant for any of the other taxa. Caution is recommended in interpreting the results of river zooplankton studies. Differences between species responses warn us not to pool species into larger taxa. Temporal variation changes from year to year, so long-time series are necessary to clarify the most important trends of river zooplankton.     

The horizontal distribution of plankton in a deep, oligotrophic lake—Loch Ness, Scotland

1. The horizontal distribution of plankton in Loch Ness, a deep, oligotrophic lake with a simple trench morphometry, was studied on three occasions in 1993. Samples were collected from ten stations spaced along the length of the loch and the abundance of algae, bacteria, protozoa, rotifers and crustacean zooplankton was determined. 2. Horizontal variability was found to be greatest for the metazoan zooplankton and for the algae, especially two cryptomonad flagellates. Bacteria and heterotrophic protozoa showed relatively little horizontal variability. The degree of horizontal variability was not sufficient seriously to affect studies of the seasonality of plankton abundance conducted from a single sampling station. 3. Gradients of plankton distribution along the length of the loch were dependent on the recent wind history. The direction of the gradient could readily reverse with a shift in wind direction. These results indicate that the horizontal distribution of plankton in Loch Ness is more dependent on wind-induced water circulation patterns than on differential growth of plankton in water masses of differing chemistry.     

Materials for plankton modelling: Vertical distribution of Atlantic zooplankton in summer

Current versions of plankton production models which allow variabilityin the vertical plane are based on very slender assumptionsabout vertical distributions of zooplankton. A late summer LHPRsection across the N.E. Atlantic and some spring and early summerLHPR hauls at 59°N indicate some of the details of verticaldistribution which seem to be important for model-formulation.It is suggested that a model which is designed to simulate verticalplankton structure in the North Atlantic should cause zooplanktonto be distributed during the production period so as to satisfythe following criteria: 60–70% of the biomass must beof carnivores, and 25–75% of all biomass should come tobe located within a discrete epiplankton layer within 40 d ofthe start of the seasonal production: this epiplankton shouldextend down to 3–4 times the depth of the mixed layer,with its lower limit near the base of the seasonal tbermocline;the epiplankton must extend deeper than the depth of negligiblechlorophyll, and 3–4 times deeper than the chorophyllmnTimnm; maximum concentrations of filter-feeders should belocated at aboout half the depth of the chlorophyll maximum,and the mmimnm of predators rather deeper; below the epiplankton,biomass should be rather constant down to 1,000 m, be about15–30 times less abundant than the epiplankton, and shouldcontain discrete layers of interzonal migrants. It is suggested,by reference to FLEX LHPR profiles, that there are importantdifferences between the oceanic plankton and the copepod-dominatedspring plankton in the North Sea, which will have importantconsequences for plankton modelling. ^*present address, Marine Ecology Laboratory, Bedford Instituteof Oceanography, Dartmouth, Canada