SEMINAR: MBF 602 Seminar-Adam Greer January 22nd, 2010- S/A seminar room 4pm

[Cary Rios <crios@rsmas.miami.edu>]

Fine scale sampling of meso-zooplankton: examining the drivers of patchiness

Average concentrations of prey in the ocean are typically lower than would be necessary for larval fish to survive, so they must utilize mechanisms of increased prey concentration or turbulence to augment their ability to feed.  In the study of early life stages of fishes, one of the principal challenges is adequately sampling the planktonic environment.  Plankton nets integrate spatially in both the horizontal and vertical directions, not allowing one to draw firm conclusions about the location of the larvae and the environment that they are actually experiencing.   In order to address this, the In Situ Ichthyoplankton Imaging System (ISIIS) was developed with the aim of quantifying fish larvae and zooplankton at fine scales (cm to tens of meters).  ISIIS was towed for 70 minutes near Fowey Rocks approximately 6 miles southeast of Key Biscayne, FL, and 460 fish larvae were encountered.  Approximately half of these were identified down to the family level.  Preliminary analysis suggests that larvae are aggregating more than would be expected from a random distribution.  Cluster analysis was performed using the Euclidean distance of physical parameters associated with each fish encounter (temperature, salinity, density, and depth) with some of the clustering corresponding to similarities in larval diets.  This suggests that larvae may aggregate in patches that have a higher than average concentration of their preferred prey item.  Future studies hope to delve further into these questions by quantifying the variability in concentrations of prey items such as copepods and appendicularians, as well as planktonic predators (siphonophores, ctenophores, etc.) as they relate to physical features.

 

Adam Greer

B.A. Vanderbilt University 2007

Entered the PhD program in fall 2008

Advisor:  Dr. Bob Cowen

Cary Rios 
Office of the Dean
University of Miami
Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science

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