Seasonal variation of zooplankton abundance and community structure in Prince William Sound, Alaska, 2009-2016

Large calanoid copepods and other zooplankters comprise the prey field for ecologically and economically important predators such as juvenile pink salmon, herring, and seabirds in Prince William Sound (PWS).​ From 2009-2016, the Gulf Watch Alaska program collected zooplankton 5-10 times each year at 12 stations in PWS to establish annual patterns. Surveys collected 188 species of zooplankton with Oithona similis, Limacina helicina, Pseudocalanus spp., and Acartia longiremis as the most common species present in 519 samples. Generalized additive models assessed seasonal abundance and showed peak abundance in July (mean: 9826 no. m−3 [95% CI: 7990-12,084]) and lowest abundance in January (503 no. m−3 [373 to 678]). Significantly higher zooplankton abundance occurred in 2010 (542 no. m−3 ± 55 SE) and lowest in 2013 (149 no. m−3 ± 13). The species composition of communities, determined via hierarchical cluster analysis and indicator species analysis, produced six distinct communities based on season and location. The winter community, characterized by warm-water indicator species including Mesocalanus tenuicornis, Calanus pacificus, and Corycaeus anglicus, diverged into four communities throughout the spring and summer. The first spring community, characterized by copepods with affinities for lower salinities, occurred sound-wide. The second spring community, comprised of planktonic larvae, appeared sporadically in PWS bays in 2011-2013. Spring and summer open water stations were defined by the presence of large calanoid copepods. A summer community including the most abundant taxa was common in 2010 and 2011, absent in 2013, then sporadically appeared in 2014 and 2015 suggesting interannual variability of zooplankton assemblages. The zooplankton community shifted to a uniform assemblage characterized by cnidarians in the early autumn. Community assemblages showed significant correlations to a set of environmental variables including SST, mixed layer depth, location, depth of chlorophyll-a max, mixed layer average salinity, chlorophyll-a maximum, and bottom depth (ρ = 0.24, p < 0.05). The disappearance of the summer community coincided with the appearance of the Gulf of Alaska warm water anomaly known as “The Blob”. A shift in zooplankton community composition during critical grazing periods for predators such as juvenile Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) could have energetic consequences for overwintering success.