Summer mesozooplankton community of Moller Bay (Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, Barents Sea)

Novaya Zemlya Archipelago is the eastern boundary of the Barents Sea. Theplankton of this region have been less intensively studied than thoseof other Arctic areas. This study of the mesozooplankton assemblage of Moller Bay was conducted in August2010. The total mesozooplankton abundance and biomass ranged from 962to 2980 individuals m-3 (mean ± SD: 2263 ± 921 indiv.m-3) and from 12.3 to 456.6 mg dry mass m-3 (mean ± SD:192 ± 170 DM m-3) respectively. Copepods and appendicularians werethe most numerous groups with Oithona similis, Pseudocalanusspp.,Acartiaspp., Calanus glacialis and Oikopleura vanhoeffennibeing the most abundant and frequent. Mesozooplankton abundance tendedto decrease with depth, whereas an inverse pattern was observed for the totalbiomass. Total mesozooplankton biomass was negatively correlated with watertemperature and positively correlated with salinity and chlorophyll aconcentration. Comparison with previous data showed significant interannualvariations in the total zooplankton stock in this region that may be due todifferences in sampling seasons, climatic conditions and the distribution ofpotential food sources (phytoplankton and seabird colonies).