Acoustic Doppler current profiler observations of migration patternsof zooplankton in the Cretan Sea
2018
Abstract. The lack of knowledge of the mesopelagic layer
inhabitants, especially those performing strong vertical migration, is an
acknowledged challenge. This incomplete representation leads to the
exclusion of an active carbon and nutrient pathway from the surface to the
deeper layers and vice versa. The vertical migration of mesopelagic
inhabitants (macroplanktonic and micronektonic) was observed by acoustical
means for almost 2.5 years in the epipelagic and mesopelagic layers of the open oligotrophic Cretan Sea
(south Aegean Sea, eastern Mediterranean) at the site
of an operational fixed-point observatory located at 1500 m depth. The
observed organisms were categorized into four groups according to their
migration patterns. The variability of the migration patterns was inspected
in relation to the physical and biological environmental conditions of the
study area. The stratification of the water column does not act as a barrier
for the vertical motion of the strongest migrants that move up to 400 m every
day. Instead, changes in light intensity (lunar cycle, daylight duration,
cloudiness) and the presence of prey and predators seem to explain the
observed daily, monthly and seasonal variability. The continuous presence of
these organisms, which are capable of vertical motion despite the profound
circulation variability at the site of the observatory, implies their
presence in the broader study area. The fundamental implications of the
above regarding biogeochemical processing in oligotrophic seas due to the intimate
link between the carbon (C) and nutrient cycles, are discussed.
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