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Distribution, diversity and biomass of summer zooplankton from the coastal Canadian Beaufort Sea

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Abstract

Composition, abundance, biomass and distribution of zooplankton in the coastal Canadian Beaufort Sea were studied in the summer of 2005 and 2006. Data were collected from two cross-shelf transects (11 stations in each). Sampling was conducted with vertical hauls using a conical net of 153-μm mesh size. Our results revealed that there are three ecological zones, Intense Plume, Diffuse Plume and oceanic, which are primarily shaped by the highly variable Mackenzie River plume. The Intense Plume Grouping was located at stations influenced greatly by the Mackenzie River, where Podon leuckarti, Pseudocalanus spp., Copepoda nauplii and Limnocalanus macrurus were most abundant. The Diffuse Plume Grouping, that was located in the transitional zone between the river plume and the ocean, had the highest diversity. This grouping was characterised by high abundance of Copepoda nauplii, Polychaeta larvae, Pseudocalanus and L. macrurus. The Oceanic Grouping, located farthest from shore beyond the 85-m depth contour, was mainly inhabited by marine taxa—Calanus glacialis, C. hyperboreus, Triconia (Oncea) borealis and Microcalanus spp.—and had the greatest overall zooplankton abundance and biomass of all groupings.

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Acknowledgments

This study is a part of and was financially supported by the Nahidik Program lead by Donald Cobb who we want to thank. Financial contribution was also made by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (grant SPUB 25/NOGAP/2007/0 and 289/W-NOGAP/2008/0). The Polish–Canadian cooperation was based on the Interchange Canada Agreement for Slawomir Kwasniewski in 2005 and for Wojciech Walkusz in 2007 and 2008. Our thanks go to the crew of the CCGS Nahidik who made the sampling possible and always created a good working atmosphere. The Bowhead whale stomach sample was collected and kindly provided by Blair Dunn (DFO, Winnipeg).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Powstancow Warszawy 55, 81-712, Sopot, Poland

    Wojciech Walkusz & Sławomir Kwaśniewski

  2. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Freshwater Institute, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N6, Canada

    Wojciech Walkusz, Joclyn E. Paulić, Sally Wong & Michael H. Papst

  3. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences, 9860 West Saanich Road, Sidney, BC, V8L 4B2, Canada

    William J. Williams

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  1. Wojciech Walkusz
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  2. Joclyn E. Paulić
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Correspondence to Wojciech Walkusz.

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Walkusz, W., Paulić, J.E., Kwaśniewski, S. et al. Distribution, diversity and biomass of summer zooplankton from the coastal Canadian Beaufort Sea. Polar Biol 33, 321–335 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0708-0

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