Coastal Mesozooplankton Assemblages during Spring Bloom in the Eastern Barents Sea

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Arctic coastal waters have been strongly influenced by climatic fluctuations during the past decades. Recent studies reported clear warming processes in the Barents Sea and adjacent waters. Plankton assemblages are good indicators of environmental changes, and their composition and production affect all components of pelagic ecosystems. Most of data on the zooplankton in Arctic seas were obtained during summer seasons, and little is known about zooplankton communities in other seasons. Spring is one of the crucial periods in the Arctic marine environment, as primary production may reach the annual maximum. To investigate a spring pattern of Arctic mesozooplankton, we performed a study in the eastern Barents Sea. This research is the first report on the spring coastal zooplankton near the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago. We revealed high diversity and abundance of zooplankton taxa. Environmental variability had a significant impact on the mesozooplankton assemblages, with geographical location and phytoplankton density being the most important. Our data may be useful for future investigations dealing with Arctic plankton communities during the era of global climatic changes. ABSTRACT: Mesozooplankton play an important role in Arctic shelf ecosystems as a trophic link and a key food source for many larval fish species. The distribution of mesozooplankton in the eastern Barents Sea was studied along a 500 nautical mile-long transect in May 2016 during the spring bloom. Mesozooplankton were sampled using a Juday net hauled from the surface to the bottom at 12 stations. We found good correspondence between the distribution of water masses and mesozooplankton assemblages. Mesozooplankton abundance (mean 73·10(3) individuals m(−2)) in Novaya Zemlya coastal water was dominated by Copepoda ova and nauplii, Thyssanoessa spp. nauplii and Oithona similis. Parasagitta elegans and Calanus finmarchicus comprised most of the total mesozooplankton biomass (mean 0.9 g dry mass m(−2)) in that water mass. A second assemblage (mean abundance 171·10(3) individuals m(−2)) was associated with the colder Barents Sea water, with Oithona similis, Copepoda nauplii, Fritillaria borealis and Cirripedia nauplii being the most numerous. In that water mass, C. finmarchicus, Metridia longa, Cirripedia nauplii and Calanus glacialis contributed most to the total biomass (mean 3 g dry mass m(−2)). The dominance of young stages of Copepoda and a high proportion of meroplankton were typical of spring mesozooplankton assemblages. The spatial distribution of mesozooplankton abundance and biomass was strongly correlated with latitude, longitude and chlorophyll a concentration, which together explained 10% of the total variance in mesozooplankton density. The present investigation is a baseline study for the assessment of the spring mesozooplankton assemblage in the eastern Barents Sea, and for an evaluation of the possible impact of future environmental changes on the Arctic shelf marine ecosystem.