The Effect of a Deep Seamount on Zooplankton Abundance and Diversity

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: Seamounts are common throughout the Pacific Ocean and may be a source of biological patchiness that is now being exploited by fisheries which trawl for the benthic nekton that live over them. Despite their abundance, their effects on marine ecosystems remain under-researched and poorly understood. This study attempts to characterize the impact one seamount has on the zooplankton communities that surround it. An unnamed seamount in the Eastern Central Pacific was identified with a peak height of 824 m below sea level. 3 sampling sites were chosen: one upstream of the summit, one near the summit, and one downstream of it. At each location, a neuston net was towed on the surface and a meter net was towed through the deep scattering layer. The collected sample was measured for density by calculating its biovolume and 100-counts were done to approximate the composition of the zooplankton community. The density of zooplankton was 3 times higher downstream of the seamount than upstream and over it. The downstream sampling site also had more trophic diversity with higher trophic level organisms present. In conjunction with two other studies, this data indicates that this seamount can be characterized by upwelling that is swept downstream to create subsequent phytoplankton and zooplankton blooms.

Type of resource	text
Date created	June 9, 2005

Author	Schwartz, Ryan

Subject	Stanford@SEA
Subject	S-199
Subject	Hopkins Marine Station
Subject	Department of Biology
Subject	Department of Earth System Science
Subject	BIOHOPK 182H
Subject	BIOHOPK 323H
Subject	EARTHSYS 323
Subject	ESS 323
Subject	seamount
Subject	Pacific Ocean
Subject	fishing
Subject	benthic
Subject	nekton
Subject	zooplankton
Subject	Eastern Central Pacific
Subject	neuston
Subject	deep scattering layer
Subject	density
Subject	biovolume
Subject	trophic
Subject	diversity
Subject	upwelling
Subject	phytoplankton
Genre	Student project report

Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/sn711vd1677

Use and reproduction: User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (CC BY).

Preferred Citation: Schwartz, Ryan. 2005. The Effect of a Deep Seamount on Zooplankton Abundance and Diversity. Unpublished Student Work, S-199, Stanford@SEA, Stanford Digital Repository. https://purl.stanford.edu/sn711vd1677.

Stanford@SEA -- Student papers

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