Characterization of the zooplankton community, size composition, and distribution in relation to hydrography in the Japan/East Sea

The Japan/East Sea (JES) may be thought of as a model or microcosm of larger oceanic systems where biogeographic boundaries juxtapose at highly dynamic boundaries. The northern and southern portions of the JES are hydrographically and biologically distinct, with the southern portion being more tropical/oligotrophic and the northern portion being more boreal/eutrophic. Regional zooplankton taxonomic and size compositions and abundance and the high-resolution vertical distribution of plankton, fluorescence, and coincident hydrography were described using the Video Plankton Recorder (VPR), equipped with high- and low-magnification cameras and environmental sensors and mounted on a vertically profiling towed vehicle, in the upper 80 m of the JES during the summer of 1999. A survey was conducted over both the northern and southern regions, including the Subpolar Front (SPF), that spanned 10-12° of latitude and longitude and covered an along track distance of 7000 km. Plankton also were collected at 15 selected stations using a ring net for silhouette analysis of taxa and size. Distributional patterns in abundance (#/liter) of plankton taxa from the VPR were quantified at sea in real time, identifying plankton automatically using a neural network classifier. The most abundant taxa identified were copepods, Oithona spp., Calanus spp., copepod nauplii, protozoa, and diatoms, with copepods the dominant taxon. The northern JES, southern JES, and North Korean Cold Current were distinct based on based on temperature-salinity properties. The hydrography was complex and characterized by multiple mesoscale features including currents and the meandering of the SPF. Different taxonomic and size compositions were observed in the three hydrographic regions. The vertical distributions of copepods and fluorescence were associated with hydrographic structure, especially at fronts. Plankton abundances varied with regional hydrographic region and environmental conditions, although strong associations were not always observed. The extremely dynamic nature of the JES may effectively mix the plankton and obscure strong gradients or differences between regions.