Genetic analysis of Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) samples

Kirby, RR, Lindley, JA, Beaugrand, G, Johns, DG, Richardson, AJ, Edwards, M and Reid, PC 2007 Genetic analysis of Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) samples. UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract/Summary

Genetic analysis of Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) samples is enabling greater taxonomic resolution and the study of plankton population structure. Here, we present some results from the genetic analysis of CPR samples collected in the North Sea and north-eastern Atlantic that reveal the impacts of climate on benthic-pelagic coupling and the food web. We show that pronounced changes in the North Sea meroplankton are related to an increased abundance and spatial distribution of the larvae of the benthic echinoderm, Echinocardium cordatum. Key stages of reproduction in E. cordatum, gametogenesis and spawning, are influenced by winter and spring sea temperature (January-May). A stepwise increase in sea temperature after 1987, which has created warmer conditions earlier in the year, together with increased summer phytoplankton, may benefit the reproduction and survival of this benthic species. Competition between the larvae of E. cordatum and other holozooplanlcton taxa may now be altering the trophodynamics of the summer pelagic ecosystem. In the north-eastern Atlantic the genetic analysis of fish larvae sampled by the CPR has revealed an unprecedented increase in the abundance of juvenile snake pipefish, Entelurus aequoreiis since 2002. We argue that increased sea surface temperatures in winter and spring when the eggs of E. aqueoreus, which are brooded by the male, are developing and the young larvae are growing in the plankton are a likely cause. The increased abundance of this species in Atlantic and adjacent European seas already appears to be influencing the marine food web.

Item Type:	Publication - Book
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Human and Climate Forcing of Zooplankton Populations. p. 83. 2007. 4. Int. Zooplankton Production Symp., Hiroshima (Japan), 28 May-1 Jun 2007 Book Monograph; Conference; Summary
Additional Keywords:	Article Subject Terms: Indexing in process
Depositing User:	Miss Gemma Brice
Date made live:	26 Mar 2014 14:09
Last Modified:	06 Mar 2017 17:57
URI:	https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/5802

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