In situ observations show vertical community structure of pelagic fauna in the eastern tropical North Atlantic off Cape Verde.

ABSTRACT: Distribution patterns of fragile gelatinous fauna in the open ocean remain scarcely documented. Using epi-and mesopelagic video transects in the eastern tropical North Atlantic, which features a mild but intensifying midwater oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), we established one of the first regional observations of diversity and abundance of large gelatinous zooplankton. We quantified the day and night vertical distribution of 46 taxa in relation to environmental conditions. While distribution may be driven by multiple factors, abundance peaks of individual taxa were observed in the OMZ core, both above and below the OMZ, only above, or only below the OMZ whereas some taxa did not have an obvious distribution pattern. In the eastern eropical North Atlantic, OMZ expansion in the course of global c

SUBMITTER: Hoving HJT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7733502 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature