Research Document - 2009/104
Ecologically and biologically significant areas in the Gulf of St. Lawrence: zooplankton and secondary production
By S. Plourde and I. McQuinn
Abstract
This research document presents candidate ecologically and biologically significant areas (SA) for zooplankton (biomass, indices of secondary production) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Areas characterized by greater biomass of three distinct size classes/groups of zooplankton (mesozooplankton <1 mm et > 1 mm, macrozooplankton) and by a high index of secondary production estimated from the egg production of adult females of dominant copepod species have been determined using spatial data collected in 1999-2000 and 2005. Additionally, results from a 3-D coupled biological-physical model of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus ran for the year 1999 and acoustic data collected in 2005 are used to complete the information. Twelve SA have been identified, with the lower estuary, the northern area in the northwest GSL, the Gaspé Current, the coastal area in the southern GSL (including the Baie-des-Chaleurs), the Maximum Turbidity Zone (middle estuary), and the region extending from the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula into the outer Baie-des-Chaleurs being the most important SA. However, recognizing that these SA correspond to regions that have been better sampled, we recommend that this information should be carefully used and provide recommendations for future work.
Accessibility Notice
This document is available in PDF format. If the document is not accessible to you, please contact the Secretariat to obtain another appropriate format, such as regular print, large print, Braille or audio version.
- Date modified: