Coupling Behavior and Vertical Distribution of Pteropods in Coastal Waters Using Data from the Video Plankton Recorder

摘要

A combination of empirical, theoretical, and field studies are being used to develop a method for making accurate short-term (hours-days) predictions of the abundance and distribution of zooplankton, Limacina retroversa (Pteropoda, Thecosomata), in the ocean. This snail occurs in large numbers in coastal waters, forming dense patches (many kilometers in length) that are acoustically and optically opaque due to the animal's hard shell. A new conceptual approach is being developed to obtain behavioral information on individual plankton over a large range of spatial scales (1 cm-100 km). Still images from the Video Plankton Recorder (VPR) are being used to link behavior at the micro-scale to vertical and horizontal distributions of plankton over much larger scales.