Epi- and mesopelagic mesozooplankton depth-discrete distribution and abundance in the Scotia and Weddell Seas, 2023 and 2025 (BIOPOLE programme)
GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/02232
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Summary
Abstract:
Mesozooplankton were collected with a Bongo net, and Mammoth and MOCNESS net systems during the oceanographic cruises SD033 (Nov and Dec 2023) and SD046 (Feb and Mar 2025). The Bongo net comprised 2 side-by-side nets and was deployed vertically to a maximum depth of 200 m. The two nets were open continuously throughout the deployment. The Mammoth net comprised 9 nets and was deployed vertically to a maximum depth of between 1000 m and 2000 m depending on the deployment protocol. The MOCNESS comprised 9 separate nets and was towed obliquely to a maximum depth of 1000 m. The multiple nets of the Mammoth and MOCNESS systems were opened in sequence at regular depth intervals during their recovery to the surface. Sampling was carried out at numerous locations in the Atlantic Sector of the Southern Ocean, namely: (i) close to South Georgia, (ii) across the Scotia Sea and (iii) within the Powell Basin of the Weddell Sea. The sampling focus of SD033 was mainly in the Weddell Sea while that of SD046 was evenly spaced across all three regions. Catches were immediately preserved in 4% buffered formaldehyde. Identification of taxa was performed by Marianne Wootton of Plankton ID-ology. 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 dataset allows examination of the seasonal distribution and abundance of mesozooplankton species across this Southern Ocean region, with the first year (SD033) covering early summer and the second year (SD046), the late summer to autumn period.
Financial support for was provided by the BIOPOLE National Capability Multicentre Round 2 funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (grant no. NE/W004933/1).
Keywords:
Amphipods, Chaetognaths, Copepods, Euphausiids, Polychaetes
Citation
Tarling, G.A., Stowasser, G., Johnston, N.M., Fielding, S., Mayor, D.J., Cook, K., Freer, J.J., Saunders, R., Wootton, M., & Thorpe-Morgan, C. (2026). Epi- and mesopelagic mesozooplankton depth-discrete distribution and abundance in the Scotia and Weddell Seas, 2023 and 2025 (BIOPOLE programme) (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/0d732e33-0f11-473c-a764-4130bc3224f1
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VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- https://www.bodc.ac.uk/resources/inventories/cruise_inventory/reports/sd033.pdf
- https://www.bodc.ac.uk/resources/inventories/cruise_inventory/reports/sd046.pdf
Constraints
| Access Constraints: | None. |
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| Use Constraints: | These data are governed by the NERC data policy http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/sites/data/policy/ and supplied under Open Government Licence v.3 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/. |
Basic Information
| Creation Date: | 2026-06-29 |
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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 Polar Data Centre |
| Role(s) | Metadata Author |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Geraint A Tarling |
| Role(s) | Investigator, Technical Contact |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Gabriele Stowasser |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Nadine M Johnston |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Sophie Fielding |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Daniel J Mayor |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Exeter |
| Name | Kathryn Cook |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Exeter |
| Name | Jennifer J Freer |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Ryan Saunders |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | Marianne Wootton |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
| Name | Charles Thorpe-Morgan |
| Role(s) | Technical Contact |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Parent Dataset: | N/A |
Additional Information
| Reference: | Tarling GA., et al. BIOPOLE-Biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functioning in changing polar systems and their global impacts." Research Ideas and Outcomes 11 (2025): e163757. https://riojournal.com/article/163757/ | |
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| Quality: | The value 0 represents an instance where the taxon was actively looked for but no specimens were present in the sample. | |
| Lineage/Methodology: | Data were gathered during two oceanographic cruises (SD033, SD046) aboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough to the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, encompassing South Georgia, the Scotia Sea and the Weddell Sea. The cruises took place between 21/11/2023- 27/12/2023 (SD033) and 05/02/25 to 28/3/25 (JSD046). Details on the deployed net devices are as follows: BONGO net: A Bongo net system (British Antarctic Survey) was deployed at a number of locations during both SD033 and SD046. This device contained a spring-tensioned motion compensation unit and 2 x 61 cm diameter metal rings, one fitted with 200 micrometre mesh net and the other, a 100 micrometre mesh net, both fitted with meshless cod-ends. Descent and ascent of the net was carried out at a speed of 0.3 m/s. Catches were preserved immediately in 4% buffered formaldehyde. Where possible, both the 100 micrometre and 200 micrometre mesh catches were analysed for species composition and abundance. Mammoth net: A Multi-net Mammoth system (Hydro-Bios) was used to obtain depth discrete catches of the mesozooplankton community from mesopelagic depths to the surface at a number of locations during SD033 and SD046. The net system has a 1 m2 opening area and 9 x 300 micrometre mesh nets fitted with 11cm diameter codends (also fitted with 300 micrometre mesh nets). Some of the initial samples were obtained from a maximum depth of 1000 m to the surface in 125 m intervals, with the two surface-most intervals being 62.5 m. In subsequent hauls, this changed to sampling down to 1300 m, which meant extending the depth intervals of the deepest two depth intervals to 300 m and 250 m respectively. At station P3 in SD046, the net obtained samples down to 2000 m, with each net interval being 250 m. The Mammoth net was damaged at Station 2_3 during SD046 and repairs reduced the number of closing bars (and hence nets) from 9 to 8 for all subsequent deployments. The Mammoth was paid out between 0.3 and 0.5 m/s and hauled in at 0.3 m/s. Catches for species compositions were carried out principally in the daytime. These catches were preserved in 4% buffered formaldehyde fully intact apart from a small number of copepods removed for respiration experiments (Nadine Johnston) that were logged on the sample labels and included in the final calculations of species composition and abundance. MOCNESS net: A MOCNESS (Multiple Opening/Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System) system (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute) was used to obtain depth discrete catches of the mesozooplankton community from mesopelagic depths to the surface at several locations during SD046 only. The MOCNESS net system has a 1 m2 opening area and 9 x 330 micrometre mesh nets. The 9 nets 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). Some individuals were picked out of the whole catch under dark conditions for experiments, taking note of the species and numbers extracted to be included in final calculations of species composition and abundance. The remainder was split into half using a Folsom splitter, with one half being preserved immediately in 4% buffered formaldehyde for analysis of species composition and abundance. The following personnel were involved in the collection of this data: SD033 Net deployment and sample preservation: Nadine Johnston, Gabriele Stowasser; Marine equipment engineers: Thomas Gillum-Webb and Matthew Hood SD046 Net deployment and sample preservation: Geraint Tarling, Sophie Fielding, Dan Mayor, Kathryn Cook, Elodie Jacob, Jen Freer, Gabriele Stowasser, Nadine Johnston, Ryan Saunders, Fadhili Malesa, Jasmine Yang; Marine equipment engineers: Matthew Hood and Simon Wright Taxonomic analyses: Marianne Wootton of Plankton ID-ology Data and metadata preparation: Charles Thorpe-Morgan |
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Locality
| Temporal Coverage: | |
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| Start Date | 2023-12-04 |
| End Date | 2023-12-14 |
| Start Date | 2025-02-15 |
| End Date | 2025-03-22 |
| Spatial Coverage: | |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | -65.5684 |
| Northernmost | -52.8544 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -51.2147 |
| Easternmost | -30.8304 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | 0 m |
| Max Depth | 2000 m |
| Location: | |
| Location | Southern Ocean |
| Detailed Location | South Georgia |
| Location | Southern Ocean |
| Detailed Location | Scotia Sea |
| Location | Southern Ocean |
| Detailed Location | Weddell Sea (Powell Basin) |
Instrumentation
| Data Collection: | Bongo net (2 x 61 cm diameter metal rings, 100 micrometre and 200 micrometre nets) A Mammoth net system (1m2 mouth area, 9 x 300 micrometre nets) A MOCNESS net system (1m2 mouth area, 9 x 330 micrometre nets) Sample splitting apparatus (Folsom splitter) Binocular light microscope |
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Storage
| Data Storage: | The data comprise fifteen .csv datasets covering differing details of five main sample sets (i) SD033 Bongo, (ii) SD033 Mammoth, (iii) SD046 Bongo, (iv) SD046 Mammoth, (v) SD046 MOCNESS: 1) Five .csv datasets of volumetric abundance N m-3 (the net sample abundance divided by the total volume of water filtered by the net); 2) Five .csv datasets of depth integrated abundance N m-2 (the volumetric abundance multiplied by the net depth interval) and 3) Five .csv datasets of station details, also containing the unique net sample identification number |
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