Abstract. Linking lower and higher trophic levels requires special focus on the essential role played by mid-trophic levels, i.e., the zooplankton. One of the most relevant pieces of information regarding zooplankton in terms of flux of energy lies in its size structure. In this study, an extensive data set of size measurements is presented, covering parts of the western European continental shelf and slope, from the Galician coast to the Ushant front, during the springs from 2005 to 2012. Zooplankton size spectra were estimated using measurements carried out in situ with the Laser Optical Plankton Counter (LOPC) and with an image analysis of WP2 net samples (200 µm mesh size) performed following the ZooScan methodology. The LOPC counts and sizes particles within 100-2000 µm of spherical equivalent diameter (ESD), whereas the WP2/ZooScan allows for counting, sizing and identification of zooplankton from ∼ 400 µm ESD. The difference between the LOPC (all particles) and the WP2/ZooScan (zooplankton only) was assumed to provide the size distribution of non-living particles, whose descriptors were related to a set of explanatory variables (including physical, biological and geographic descriptors). A statistical correction based on these explanatory variables was further applied to the LOPC size distribution in order to remove the non-living particles part, and therefore estimate the size distribution of zooplankton. This extensive data set provides relevant information about the zooplankton size distribution variability, productivity and trophic transfer efficiency in the pelagic ecosystem of the Bay of Biscay at a regional and interannual scale.

An integrated analysis of the pelagic ecosystems of the Ligurian Sea is performed combining time series of different zooplankton groups (small and large copepods, chaetognaths, appendicularians, pteropods, thaliaceans, decapods larvae, other crustaceans, other gelatinous and other zooplankton), chlorophyll-<i>a</i> and nutrients, seawater salinity, temperature and density and local weather at the Point B coastal station (Northern Ligurian Sea). From January 1995 to December 2005, a shift in most variables occurred ca. 2000. From 1995 to 2000 winters were wet and mild resulting in lower winter sea surface density. These years showed lower than average nutrients and zooplankton concentrations while phytoplankton biomass was higher. After 2000, winters were colder and dryer resulting in higher sea surface density. Nutrients and zooplankton showed higher concentrations while phytoplankton was lower than average. The ca. 2000 shift was observed for most zooplankton groups with a one year delay for certain groups. The observed patterns suggest that the pelagic ecosystem trophic state is mostly set by the winter forcing on the convection that upwells nutrients to the surface sustaining the spring bloom. However, low phytoplankton concentrations in higher nitrate and zooplankton conditions during the well mixed years suggest that phytoplankton is controlled by grazers. The proposed mechanisms of convection regimes hold for most of the time series, but specific years with contradicting patterns needed to be explained by other factors. The limitation of phytoplankton growth by the light availability in spring/summer was then proposed as a secondary driving force that can moderate or even reverse the winter forcing. Finally, the eleven years of observation did not reveal a clear link with the North Atlantic Oscillation, suggesting a more complex dynamics linking large scale climate to Ligurian Sea ecosystems or that the length of the plankton monitoring is not yet sufficient to detect those links