International Research Fellowship Program: Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Marine Zooplankton in Korean Waters

Rebstock, Ginger A, Arlington VA

Investigators

Abstract

0107318 Rebstock The International Research Fellow Awards Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad. This award will provide six months of support to Dr. Ginger A. Rebstock to work with Dr. Young Shil Kang at the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) in Pusan, Korea. The objective of this project is to describe spatial and temporal variability in the zooplankton and hydrography of the seas surrounding the Korean peninsula. Zooplankton samples have been collected bimonthly since 1965 at 88 stations around the Korean peninsula by the NFRDI. Zooplankton wet weight, counts of four important zooplankton taxa, and hydrographic and fisheries data are available in a computer database. This project will identify modes or patterns of spatial variability in each variable, using Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF). A time series will be calculated for each important mode to show how the strength of each mode varies over time. Modes of different variables will be compared to determine their interrelationships. The data set to be studied is one of the few multi-decadal marine zooplankton data sets in existence.