Patterning of zooplankton communities as revealed by 25 years of observations along the Seward Line in the Northern Gulf of Alaska

The northern Gulf of Alaska zooplankton communities have been well sampled for the past quarter century. Here we illustrate the major environmental gradients present in this time series: season, cross-shelf, depth, and year.  Spring and summer/fall occupy separate and distinct multi-dimensional space.  Stations typically display a distinct multi-dimensional cross-shelf patterning as do depth layers (when data is available).  Year introduces scatter along these gradients.  We will explore what species are most influential in establishing these patterns, and the degree to which environmental factors explain the variability manifested by year.  Establishing these connections will facilitate predictions of community structure that may be expected under future environmental settings.

Presentation Preference: Oral

Primary Presenter: Russell Hopcroft, University of Alaska - Fairbanks (rrhopcroft@alaska.edu)

Authors:

Russell Hopcroft, University of Alaska Fairbanks  (rrhopcroft@alaska.edu)

Caitlin Smoot, University of Alaska  (casmoot@alaska.edu)

Alex Poje, University of Alaska  (apoje@alaska.edu)