COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Mesozooplankton-Microbial Food Web Interactions in Western Arctic Shelf and Basin Regions

University Of Rhode Island, Kingston RI

Investigators

Abstract

A central goal of the Shelf-Basin Interactions (SBI) program is to understand the processes affecting carbon transformations and fluxes within and between Arctic shelf and basin ecosystems, and how climate change might impact these processes. The cycling of carbon in Arctic shelf and basin habitats depends on the structure and functioning of both micro- and meso- zooplankton acting as significant consumers of primary production. The partitioning of primary production between the fractions remaining in the water column or accumulating to the seafloor (where organic matter is less available for export from the shelf) can be greatly affected by the relative grazing rates of microzooplankton versus mesozooplankton herbivores. Microplankton grazing dampens export flux, while mesozooplankton grazing enhances it. The primary focus of this project is an analysis of the impact of microzooplankton and mesozooplankton grazers on the fluxes and exchanges of carbon within the oceanic waters of the Canada Basin and the shelf waters of the Chukchi/Beaufort Seas. This study will explicitly address trophic linkages previously unexplored in this region of the Arctic. The hypothesize is that changing ecosystem structure resulting from climate change will alter the role of these trophic interactions in the utilization and cycling of carbon in arctic shelves and basin systems. This project will provide rate measurements for microzooplankton and mesozooplankton grazing and reproduction, parameters that are a high priority for the seasonal process cruises in the SBI project.