Characterizing zooplankton and micronekton diel vertical migration at the western Puerto Rican shelf/slope break.

摘要

Discrete zooplankton/micronekton samples from three plankton cruises were collected over a moored Bluewater Broadband ADCP in Mona Passage, west of Puerto Rico to: describe the taxonomic composition, vertical distribution, and diel vertical migrations of the zooplankton/micronekton community, and calibrate ADCP echo intensity data (relative backscatter strength, RBS) versus zooplankton/micronekton biomass and density. A Tucker trawl system (mesh size: 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0 mm) sampling in vertically stratified step-oblique net tows was used to collect, quantify, and identify zooplankton/micronekton taxa. Three 24-hour net tow stations were occupied over the insonified cone of the 76.8 kHz Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). Echo intensity and current velocity data were acquired from the ADCP. Relative backscatter strength (RBS) time-series contours revealed persistent DVM layers in Mona Passage and La Parguera at depths of 150 and 400 m. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)