-
Views
-
Cite
Cite
David C. Schneider, Chris D. Bajdik, Decay of zooplankton patchiness generated at the sea surface, Journal of Plankton Research, Volume 14, Issue 4, 1992, Pages 531–543, https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/14.4.531
Close - Share Icon Share
Abstract
Population interaction in the sea depends on local population density, which can change rapidly under the influence of circulatory structures such as Langmuir cells generated by wind stress. We investigated variation in local density of gelatinous zooplankton at the sea surface during and after wind events in the southern Labrador Current. The first hypothesis we tested was that the onset of wind generates variation in local density of gelatinous zooplankton at the spatial scale of Langmuir circulation. Analysis of transects before and during a wind event showed no intensification of variability at small (≤10 m) scales. The second hypothesis was that spatial variation at the scale of Langmuir circulation decays during calm periods. Loss of significant components of variability was observed along the latter part relative to the earlier part of two transects. The third hypothesis we tested was that variability at larger spatial scales would exceed variability at smaller scales due to sweeping of small Langmuir cells into larger cells. We found that spatial variability increased with spatial scale along transects made during a wind event. Based on our observations we propose two hypotheses about the spatial structure of gelatinous zooplankton at the sea surface. The first is that the initial effect of a wind rising from a new direction is to rapidly erase structure generated by a previous wind. The second hypothesis is that Langmuir circulation generates variability at identical spatial scales over several kilometres, but that the magnitude of this variation is not uniform over these distances.
