The influence of freshwater discharge on the distribution of zooplankton in the southern Kara Sea


Contact
ifetzer [ at ] awi-bremerhaven.de

Abstract

Zooplankton was collected on 2 cruises to the southern Kara Sea to study the effect of the freshwater outflow of the rivers Ob and Yenisej on plankton distribution. Calanoid copepods dominated the composition with more than 75% of all specimens collected in both years, Drepanopus bungei was the most abundant species. Species composition showed a wide spectrum from freshwater to marine species. The abundance and community composition of the zooplankton communities followed closely the hydrographic pattern along a gradient from the inner to the outer estuaries, as revealed by Cluster analysis and Multi Dimensional Scaling. There were also differences in species composition and abundance between the two rivers. The stable brackish surface layer created a large distribution area for riverine species, while in the underlying marine water masses oceanic species penetrated far into the estuaries. In 1997 this area was considerably larger, probably due to a higher freshwater discharge. During the 1999 cruise, which took place 3 weeks earlier, salinities were generally higher. Both species composition and overall abundances were higher in 1999 than in 1997 especially due to the enormous increase of Limnocalanus marcurus and Pseudocalanus major



Item Type
Article
Authors
Divisions
Programs
Publication Status
Published
Eprint ID
4793
Cite as
Fetzer, I. , Hirche, H. J. and Kolosova, E. G. (2002): The influence of freshwater discharge on the distribution of zooplankton in the southern Kara Sea , Polar Biology 25:, pp. 404-415 .


Download
[thumbnail of Fulltext]
Preview
PDF (Fulltext)
I.F2001a.pdf

Download (376kB) | Preview
Cite this document as:

Share
Add to AnyAdd to TwitterAdd to FacebookAdd to LinkedinAdd to PinterestAdd to Email

Research Platforms
N/A

Campaigns
N/A


Actions
Edit Item Edit Item