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The annual routines and seasonal ecology of herbivorous zooplankton species are relatively well known due to their tight coupling with their pulsed food source, the primary production. For higher trophic levels of plankton, these seasonal interactions are less well understood. Here, we study the mid-winter feeding of chaetognaths in high-Arctic fjord ecosystems. Chaetognaths are planktivorous predators which comprise high biomass in high-latitude seas. We investigated the common species Parasagitta elegans around the Svalbard archipelago (78-81°N) during the winters of 2012 and 2013. Our samples consisted of individuals (body lengths 9-55 mm) from three fjords, which were examined for gut contents ( n = 903), stable isotopes, fatty acid composition, and maturity status ( n = 352). About a quarter of the individuals contained gut contents, mainly lipid droplets and chitinous debris, whilst only 4 % contained identifiable prey, chiefly the copepods Calanus spp. and Metridia longa. The δN content of P. elegans, and its average trophic level of 2.9, confirmed its carnivorous position and its fatty acid profile [in particular its high levels of 20:1(n-9) and 22:1(n-11)] confirmed carnivory on Calanus. Observations of undeveloped gonads in many of the larger P. elegans, and the absence of small individuals <10 mm, suggested that reproduction had not started this early in the year. Its average feeding rate across fjords and years was 0.12 prey ind. day, which is low compared to estimates of spring and summer feeding in high-latitude environments. Our findings suggest reduced feeding activity during winter and that predation by P. elegans had little impact on the mortality of copepods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some holoplanktonic species are cosmopolitan and have continuous distribution in the world’s oceans. For most of these species it is not clear whether there is unhampered gene flow between far distant populations or they represent a complex of cryptic species. In the present study we investigated genetic diversity of the cosmopolitan chaetognath Eukrohnia hamata in order to identify its spatial structure. DNA-barcode fragment of the mitochondrial COI gene was determined and analyzed for E. hamata specimens collected in the Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. Five lineages were determined by the phylogenetic analysis with robust statistical support. Three lineages: Antarctic (Eh-1), Subantarctic (Eh-2), and Arctic (Eh-3) had significant genetic differences and were geographically separated. Two other lineages: Eh-4 and Eh-5, that had the smallest genetic difference, were observed together in tropical waters, but they were geographically separated from the other lineages. We suppose that geographical distribution of most of the E. hamata lineages is shaped by the large-scale oceanic fronts, considered as biogeographic boundaries for numerous zooplankton species. Genetic homogeneity of Arctic, Subantarctic, and Antarctic lineages was also shown, each within its regions of inhabit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Only a few historical assessments of the zooplankton biomass in the Arctic Ocean exist are difficult to compare due to methodological differences including incomplete sampling of the water column. We present assessments of the zooplankton biomass for 66 locations scattered over the Eurasian and Makarov Basins of the Arctic Ocean and analyze regional variability and factors affecting the biomass distribution. The study is based on material from several summer expeditions of RV Polarstern (1993–1998) that was collected and processed using consistent methods, i.e. stratified sampling of the entire water column from the bottom to the surface with very similar gear and standardized calculation of biomass. Total zooplankton biomass varied strongly from 1.9 to 23.9gDWm−2 dry mass. Regional variability was mainly related to the circulation pattern, but local food availability was also important. A belt of elevated biomass along the Eurasian continental margin was associated with the advection of Atlantic pelagic populations within the Arctic Ocean Boundary Current along the Siberian shelves and returning branches along mid-ocean ridges. Biomass was highest in the core of the Atlantic inflow and remained rather stable along the continental margins, but species composition changed, pointing to different adaptation levels to local conditions by advected species. Biomass gradually decreased towards the shelves and basins and was lowest in the centers of the basins north of 85°N. In the slope region, three Calanus species (C. hyperboreus, C. glacialis, C. finmarchicus) and Metridia longa contributed most to the biomass, chaetognaths (Eukrohnia hamata) were also important. In the basins, C. hyperboreus was dominant, copepods made up to 97% of total biomass. Vertical distribution was similar at all stations with biomass maxima in the upper 50m layer except for stations near Fram Strait and northern Kara Sea, the gateways of Atlantic water to the Arctic Ocean, where maxima where between 25 and 100m. As there was only very little interannual variability of temperature and current velocity in the regions of the Atlantic inflow we suggest that the majority of our samples, collected in 1993 and 1995, represents the phase of the 1990s warm event in the Nordic Seas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]