Interannual Changes of the Winter to Early Spring Biomass and Composition of Mesozooplankton in the Kuroshio Region in Relation to Climatic Factors |
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| Authors: | Kaoru Nakata Sachiko Koyama |
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| Institution: | (1) National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-8648, Japan |
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| Abstract: | Interannual variations of biomass of major mesozooplankton groups (Cnidaria, Chaetognatha, Copepoda, Crustacea other than
copepods, Tunicata) in the January to March period were examined in the slope, Kuroshio and offshore waters off the Pacific
coast of western Japan (western region) from 1971 to 1988 and off central Japan (central region) from 1971 to 1989. The mean
biomass for each year of most of the mesozooplankton groups was high in the early 1970s and tended to decrease (in the western
region) or to have dropped to a lower level (in the central region) after the mid-1970s. Stepwise multiple linear regression
analyses of the mean biomass for each year of each mesozooplankton group in the Kuroshio in both regions against climatic
factors revealed that the biomass was related positively to wind speed. It is therefore considered that the nutrient supply
to the upper layers limits the production of many of the mesozooplankton groups examined in the Kuroshio, even in winter.
Similar relationships were also found for the biomass of Copepoda, non-copepod Crustacea and Tunicata in the offshore water
in the western region. The percentage of copepods in the biomass in the central region seemed to decrease under high water
temperature conditions, while that of Chaetgnatha tended to increase. Climatic factors thus largely influenced the interannual
variations of biomass and composition of mesozooplankton in and near the Kuroshio during the winter to early spring period.
This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. |
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| Keywords: | Mesozooplankton biomass composition Kuroshio climatic factors wind speed |
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