Persistent high-density krill aggregations make the St. Lawrence Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence important feeding-grounds for large marine mammals. To estimate the effects of the circulation on the seasonal krill distribution, a krill biomass-concentration equation with active vertical migration was coupled to a 3D regional sea ice-ocean circulation model. The results show recurrent spatial patterns of aggregation and advection controlled by the circulation and a high sensitivity to the parameters of the biological model. The time spent in the surface layer is crucial for the retention of organisms in the estuary. The simulated krill aggregation areas are associated with 3 processes (tidal interactions with bathymetry, wind-driven upwelling and mean circulation). Zooplankton generally aggregate near the edges of the Laurentian Channel and other secondary channels, at locations that are consistent with the sparse synoptic information on the distributions of large marine mammals in the gulf. The simulations also indicate that changes in the seasonal circulation significantly affect the krill distribution within the gulf through gyre intensities, the seasonal thermocline and the strength of the estuarine circulation. Finally, the variability of zooplankton transport to the estuary from the gulf appears to be controlled by processes acting on the circulation mode at the mouth of the estuary and estuarine pumping of the krill layer towards the head of the Laurentian Channel. The simulated krill biomass imported into the estuary changed by a factor of 2 over the 3 simulated years.

Summary The study of protistan functional diversity is crucial to understand the dynamics of oceanic ecological processes. We combined the metabarcoding data of various coastal ecosystems and a newly developed trait‐based approach to study the link between taxonomic and functional diversity across marine protistan communities of different size‐classes. Environmental DNA was extracted and the V4 18S rDNA genomic region was amplified and sequenced. In parallel, we tried to annotate the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) from our metabarcoding dataset to 30 biological traits using published and accessible information on protists. We then developed a method to study trait correlations across protists (i.e. trade‐offs) in order to build the best functional groups. Based on the annotated OTUs and our functional groups, we demonstrated that the functional diversity of marine protist communities varied in parallel with their taxonomic diversity. The coupling between functional and taxonomic diversity was conserved across different protist size classes. However, the smallest size‐fraction was characterized by wider taxonomic and functional groups diversity, corroborating the idea that nanoplankton and picoplankton are part of a more stable ecological background on which larger protists and metazoans might develop.

The "Applied Simulations and Integrated Modelling for the Understanding of Harmful Algal Blooms" (Asimuth) project sought to develop a harmful algal bloom (HAB) alert system for Atlantic Europe. This was approached by combining, at a national or regional level, regulatory monitoring phytoplankton and biotoxin data with satellite remote sensing and other information on current marine conditions, coupled with regional scale models that included a representation of HAB transport. Synthesis of these products was achieved by expert interpretation within HAB risk alert bulletins that were prepared on a regular basis (typically weekly) for use by the aquaculture industry. In this preface to the Asimuth Special Issue we outline the main HAB species of concern in the region and the strengths and limitations of different methodologies to provide early warning of their blooms.

In 2012, there were exceptional blooms of D. acuminata in early spring in what appeared to be a mesoscale event affecting Western Iberia and the Bay of Biscay. The objective of this work was to identify common climatic patterns to explain the observed anomalies in two important aquaculture sites, the Galician Rías Baixas (NW Spain) and Arcachon Bay (SW France). Here, we examine climate variability through physical-biological couplings, Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies and time of initiation of the upwelling season and its intensity over several decades. In 2012, the mesoscale features common to the two sites were positive anomalies in SST and unusual wind patterns. These led to an atypical predominance of upwelling in winter in the Galician Rías, and increased haline stratification associated with a southward advection of the Gironde plume in Arcachon Bay. Both scenarios promoted an early phytoplankton growth season and increased stability that enhanced D. acuminata growth. Therefore, a common climate anomaly caused exceptional blooms of D. acuminata in two distant regions through different triggering mechanisms. These results increase our capability to predict intense diarrhetic shellfish poisoning outbreaks in the early spring from observations in the preceding winter.

A set of high-resolution observations on short-term dynamics of krill diel vertical migrations (DVM) in the St. Lawrence Estuary are presented here, including vertical mass transfer measurements from multifrequency echosounding coupled with stratified net sampling and tracers of individual vertical movements from stomach pigments over a 72 h period. The data set is supplemented by vertical migration speeds and biomass diel patterns from ADCP (acoustic Doppler current profiler) time series lasting up to 3 months. All krill always rapidly migrated to the surface in synchrony at sunset. Soon after the ascent, fed krill started to swim downward. A scattering layer was then formed at their daytime depth with sometimes a significant backscatter at intermediate depths, especially around midnight. A reorganisation in the upper water column then occurs, likely for a predawn feeding bout. At dawn, the krill mass still feeding in upper water column synchronously swam downward to their daytime depth. This nocturnal asynchronous vertical behaviour, conforming to the DVM hunger-satiation hypothesis, repeated between August and October in two different years, the DVM timing being determined by day length.Résumé : Un ensemble d'observations à haute résolution de la dynamique à court terme des migrations verticales nycthémérales (MVN) du krill dans l'estuaire du Saint-Laurent est présenté. Il incorpore des mesures de transfert de masse sur la verticale à partir d'échosondages multifréquences couplés à l'échantillonnage des strates au filet à nappe et le suivi des mouvements verticaux individuels par des mesures de pigments stomacaux sur une période de 72 h. Des sé-ries temporelles des patrons circadiens des vitesses verticales de migrations déterminées à l'aide d'un ADCP (« acoustic Doppler current profiler »; profileur de courant acoustique à effet Doppler) complètent les mésures sur une période allant jusqu'à 3 mois. L'ensemble du krill migre toujours rapidement et en synchronie jusqu'en surface lors du coucher du soleil. Peu de temps après l'ascension, du krill nourri commence à nager vers le bas, ce qui se poursuit avec une intensité notable jusqu'au milieu de la nuit. Il forme alors une couche acoustique de rétrodiffusion à sa profondeur diurne, ce qui engendre une distribution verticale nocturne bimodale, souvent accompagnée de densités acoustiques notables aux profondeurs intermédiaires, particulièrement au milieu de la nuit. Une réorganisation dans la partie supé-rieure de la colonne d'eau survient ensuite, vraisemblablement pour une dernière période d'alimentation avant l'aube. A l'aube, la masse de krill s'alimentant toujours dans la partie supérieure de la colonne d'eau nage en synchronie vers sa profondeur diurne. Ce comportement vertical nocturne asynchrone, conforme à l'hypothèse de faim-satiété de la MVN, s'est répété entre les mois d'août et d'octobre à deux années différentes, la synchronisation de la MVN dépendant de la durée du jour. Sourisseau et al. 587