Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2023
Höfundar / Authors: Sólrún Sigurgeirsdóttir (1), Ástþór Gíslason (1), Hildur Pétursdóttir(2), Jörundur Svavarsson(2)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. Hafrannsóknastofnun, Fornubúðir 5, 220 Hafnarfjörður 2. Háskóli Íslands, Líf og umhverfisvísindadeild, Askja, 102 Reykjavík
Kynnir / Presenter: Sólrún Sigurgeirsdóttir
Zooplankton are important food sources for many fish species and other organisms in the mesopelagic layer. Spatial distribution of zooplankton has mainly been studied by using conventional nets that integrate abundance over relatively large intervals and therefore do not give very accurate information about the vertical distribution in the water column. There is limited previous information on how the vertical distribution of zooplankton is related to environmental factors on a fine scale in the Iceland Basin and Irminger Sea. By using Video Plankton Recorder (VPR), we obtain data on the vertical distribution of zooplankton and environmental variables on a fine spatial scale. This enables an assessment to be made of how environmental factors affect the distribution and abundance of zooplankton in the water column.
Marine snow plays a big role in carbon transfer. By sinking down the water column from the productive surface layer the marine snow transfers carbon to the deeper layers of the ocean. By combining data on abundance and size of marine snow particles with equations relating size of particles to sinking velocity an estimate of flux of marine snow can be estimated.
I will present results from two cruises that were conducted in the Iceland Basin, the Irminger Sea and along a transect over the Reykjanes Ridge.
This study is a part of the European project MEESO (Ecologically and economically sustainable mesopelagic fisheries) and contributes to its aims of understanding