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A Volumetric Study of Zooplankton Distribution in the Cape Hatteras Area 1
Author(s) -
ST. JOHN PHILIP A.
Publication year - 1958
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1958.3.4.0387
Subject(s) - zooplankton , oceanography , plankton , hydrography , environmental science , spring (device) , phytoplankton , submarine pipeline , current (fluid) , water mass , fishery , geology , ecology , nutrient , biology , mechanical engineering , engineering
The displacement volumes of 82 zooplankton samples, collected from the offshore waters of North Carolina during May and June of 1953 and January 1954, are determined and reported. A brief review is given of the topographic and hydrographic features of the area. A comparison of zooplankton volumes is made with other areas in the eastern and western North Atlantic. In the present area, the mean zooplankton volume in May was 0.29 cc/m 3 ; in June, 0.28 cc/m 3 ; in January, 0.20 cc/m 3 . The volumes of zooplankton are shown to be least in shallow coastal areas and in offshore Florida Current water and to be generally at a maximum near the mid‐shelf region. Winter volumes in the present area were about 70% of the late spring values, while north of Cape Hatteras the plankton undergoes a 50% reduction between these seasons. Over Georges Bank the winter volumes are about 15% of the spring volumes, and in Norwegian waters the winter plankton volume is less than 3% of the spring value. The relatively slight reduction in plankton volumes from spring to winter in the Cape Hatteras area appears due to (1) the proximity of the Florida Current which supplies the shelf waters with reproducing populations of oceanic plankton species, and (2) the relatively high winter water temperatures and high solar radiation which insure a moderate standing crop of phytoplankton and hence a food supply for the animal fraction of the plankton.