Abstract:
Mesozooplankton were collected with a MOCNESS net system during the oceanographic cruise JR17005 (May and June 2018) and JR18007 (August 2019). The MOCNESS comprised 9 separate nets which opened in sequence such that the closing of one net opened the next; net 1 was open during the descent of the net to its maximum depth (about 1000 m) while the remaining 8 depths opened at regular intervals during the reascent to the surface. Catches were immediately preserved in 4 percent buffered formaldehyde after division by a Folsom splitter into either 0.5 or 0.25 fractions. Identification of taxa was performed by Continuous Plankton Recorder survey analysts at the Marine Biological Association UK, led by Marianne Wootton. Specimens were categorised to the lowest possible taxonomic level, which, in some cases, encompassed developmental stages but, in other cases, was limited to higher order taxa. Each taxa was enumerated to determine abundance with the preserved fraction of the catch. These were scaled up to the whole catch and divided by the volume filtered of the respective net to determine abundance in units of individuals m-3. These values were also multiplied by the sampled depth interval to derive the alternative unit of individuals m-2. The samples from three net deployments were analysed from both JR17005 and JR18005 in approximately matching locations between Greenland and Svalbard, encompassing the Fram Strait. The dataset allows examination of the distribution and abundance of these species across the region in two separate years, with the first year covering early summer and the second year, late summer.
Financial support for was provided by Changing Arctic Ocean (CAO) Programme DIAPOD, funded by UKRI Natural Environment Research Council (NERC; NE/P006213/1, NE/P006353/1, NE/P006302/1, NE/P006183/1,and NE/P005985/1, amongst others), and by CAO Project
CHASE, jointly funded by NERC (NE/R012733/1) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF; 03F0803A).
Keywords:
Amphipods, Chaetognaths, Copepods, Euphausiids, Polychaetes
Tarling, G.A., Mayor, D.J., Atherden, F., Jenkins, H.E., Castellani, C., Belcher, A., Freer, J.J., Grigor, J., Stowasser, G., Hunter, A., Conway, D., & Pond, D. (2026). Epi- and mesopelagic mesozooplankton depth-discrete distribution and abundance between Greenland and Svalbard (2018 and 2019) (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/69eb8320-9d2b-4cc1-818a-83d14c15c491
| Access Constraints: | None. |
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| Use Constraints: | Data are supplied under Open Government Licence v.3 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/. |
| Creation Date: | 2026-01-26 |
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| Dataset Progress: | Complete |
| Dataset Language: | English |
| ISO Topic Categories: |
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| Parameters: |
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| Personnel: | |
| Name | UK PDC |
| Role(s) | Metadata Author |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Geraint A Tarling |
| Role(s) | Investigator, Technical Contact |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Dr Daniel J Mayor |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Exeter |
| Name | Florence Atherden |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Holly E Jenkins |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Southampton |
| Name | Claudia Castellani |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Plymouth Marine Laboratory |
| Name | Anna Belcher |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Jennifer J Freer |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Jordan Grigor |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Scottish Association For Marine Science |
| Name | Gabriele Stowasser |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Aidan Hunter |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | David Conway |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
| Name | David Pond |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Stirling |
| Parent Dataset: | N/A |
| Reference: | Tarling GA, Freer JJ, Banas NS, Belcher A, Blackwell M, Castellani C, Cook, KB, Cottier FR, Daase M, Johnson ML, Last KS, Lindeque PK, Mayor DJ, Mitchell E, Parry HE, Spears DC, Stowasser G, Wootton M (2022) Can a key boreal Calanus copepod species now complete its life-cycle in the Arctic? Evidence and implications for Arctic food-webs. AMBIO 51:333-344 doi: 10.1007/s13280-021-01667-y. Tarling GA, Belcher A, Blackwell M, Castellanu C, Cook KB, Cotteri FR, Dewar-Fowler V, Freer JJ, Gerrish L, Johnson M, Last KS, Lindeque PK, Major DJ, Parry HE, Stowasser G, Wootton M (2022) Carbon and lipid content of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus entering diapause in the Fram Strait and their contribution to the boreal and Arctic lipid pump. Front Mar Sci (DIAPOD/CHASE Special Issue) 9:926462 doi: 10.3389/fmars.2022.926462. |
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| Quality: | All species were identified according to the taxonomic guides available at time of analysis and the user must be aware that some species names may have since been updated. The value 0 represents an instance where the taxon was actively looked for but no specimens were present in the sample. In 4 instances, the analyst found pieces of a particular organism but not a whole specimen, i.e. only remnants were present. These were given the symbol ",+" in the 'N per net' file. They were assigned a value of 0 in the 'N m-3' and 'N m-2' file. |
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| Lineage/Methodology: | Data were gathered during two oceanographic cruises (JR17005, JR18007) aboard the RRS James Clark Ross to the region between Greenland and Svalbard, encompassing the Fram Strait. The cruises took place between 8/5/2018 to 8/6/2018 (JR17005) and 4/8/2019 to 29/8/2019 (JR18007). Depth discrete mesozooplankton samples to a maximum depth of about 1000 m were collected by a MOCNESS net system (1m2 opening area, 330 µm meshes) at a number of locations in the region, of which three were analysed for the present dataset. The MOCNESS comprised 9 separate nets which opened in sequence such that the closing of one net opened the next; net 1 was open during the descent of the net to its maximum depth (about 1000 m) while the remaining 8 depths opened at regular intervals (about every 125 m) during the reascent to the surface (minimum depth 5m). The exception was Event 18 on JR17005 where the maximum depth was 1200 m and depth interval, 150 m. Samples were split by a Folsom splitter and the subsequent fractions preserved. Either 0.5 or 0.25 of the sample was preserved in buffered 4% formalin while another fraction was preserved in 96% ethanol. Taxa were identified in the formalin preserved samples through examination by light microscopy by analysts at the Marine Biological Association UK, led by Marianne Wootton. Note that net 1 (0-1000 m) was not considered for taxonomic analysis. The abundance of each taxa within a sample was determined through examining a known fraction of the sample and then making an inverse multiplication of that fraction. Volumetric abundances (individuals m-3) were determined through dividing sample abundance by the volume of water sampled by the respective net. Net volume was mainly derived through a calibrated flow meter or, if that failed, through multiplying the net opening diameter by average speed of the vessel during hauling. This calculation assumes 100% net sampling efficiency and no avoidance. Values in units of individuals m-2 were also calculated through multiplying volumetric abundances by the respective depth interval (in m). The following personnel were involved in the collection of this data: Bjørg Apeland, Gareth Flint and Carwyn Davies serviced and helped to operate the MOCNESS net. Geraint Tarling, Dan Mayor, Florence Atherden, Holly Jenkins, Claudia Castellani, Anna Belcher, Jennifer Freer, Jordan Grigor, Gabi Stowasser, Aidan Hunter, David Conway and David Pond helped in deploying the net and preserving the samples. Taxonomic analyses were performed by Continuous Plankton Survey analysts at the Marine Biological Association, UK led by Marianne Wootton. Geraint Tarling, Katy Buckland, Amena Boyd and Petra ten Hoopen prepared the data for publication. Geraint Tarling wrote the metadata. |
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| Temporal Coverage: | |
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| Start Date | 2018-05-16 |
| End Date | 2018-05-31 |
| Start Date | 2019-08-09 |
| End Date | 2019-08-18 |
| Spatial Coverage: | |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | 75.23889 |
| Northernmost | 79.37615 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -5.86894 |
| Easternmost | 5.15325 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | 0 m |
| Max Depth | 1200 m |
| Location: | |
| Location | Arctic |
| Detailed Location | Greenland |
| Location | Arctic |
| Detailed Location | Svalbard |
| Data Collection: | 1. A MOCNESS net system (1m2 mouth diameter, 330um meshes) 2. Sample splitting apparatus (Folsom splitter) 3. Binocular light microscope |
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| Data Storage: | The data comprise four .csv datasets: 1) net sample abundance N per net is the total abundance of individuals within a respective net; 2) volumetric abundance N m-3 is the net sample abundance divided by the total volume of water filtered by the net; 3) depth integrated abundance N m-2 is the volumetric abundance multiplied by the net depth interval and 4) the station details, also containing the unique net sample identification number in order to relate this information to datasets 1 to 3. |
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