Zooplankton Monitoring in the European Arctic Gateway (ZooMon-EAG)

Updated 2016-05-23

Zooplankton make essential links between producers and predators in marine ecosystems, so mediating in the CO2 exchange between atmosphere and ocean They can be indicators of climate variability, and changes in zooplankton species distribution and abundance may have cascading effects on food webs. West Spitsbergen Current is the main pathway of transport of Atlantic waters and biota into the Arctic Ocean and the Arctic shelf seas. West Spitsbergen Shelf coastal and fjordic waters, therefore, are natural experimental areas to study mechanisms by which the Atlantic and Arctic marine ecosystem interact, and to observe environmental changes caused by variability in climate. The main objectives of the zooplankton monitoring are: a) to study patterns and variability in composition and abundance in zooplankton of the West Spitsbergen Current and the West Spitsbergen fjords and coastal waters; b) to find out environmental factors responsible for the observed patterns and variability in zooplankton, and to understand possible relations between zooplankton and their environment on different space and time scales; c) to observe and monitor the variability in zooplankton in relation to local and global climate changes.

Time frame

Status
Ongoing
Project time span
2001 -
Data collection
2001 - 2015
Data processing
2001 - 2011
Data reporting
2001 - 2009

Contact information

Contact person
Slawomir Kwasniewski- -
Address

Slawomir Kwasniewski, Dr

IO PAN

Powstancow Warszawy St. 55

81-712 Sopot

Phone
++ 48 58 7311786
Email
lp.adg.napoi@sawk

Parameters and Media

Parameter groups measured/observed/modelled
Biological effects
Media sampled/studied/modelled
Plankton (zooplankton)

Geography

Regions studied
Biological effects
Biological effects
Stations or areas where observations are made

AREX sampling area:

73 30 - 78 50 deg N, 003 - 019 deg E

Data availability

Samples/specimens archived in specimen banks?
No

Methods & Procedures

Procedures and methodology used for, e.g., sampling and sample storage, sample pretreatment, extraction and analysis, including which laboratories are involved, references to methods employed, etc.

Zooplankton composition and abundance, background hydrological data.

Additional Information

Is this a bi- AND multi-lateral project (i.e. a project involving cooperation between different countries)?
No
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