Vertically Resolved Pelagic Particle Biomass and Size Structure Across a Continental Shelf Under the Influence of a Western Boundary Current

Abstract

Continental shelves account for less than 7% of the earth's ocean surface area yet support over 90% of the world's fisheries catch (Pauly et al., 2002). These fisheries are based upon high primary productivity (Bakun & Weeks, 2008;Mackinson et al., 2009;Marshak & Link, 2021) which is transferred into fisheries species via zooplankton (Mitra et al., 2014). While primary productivity and chlorophyll a on continental shelves have been quantified via highly accessible satellite imagery (Everett et al., 2014;Marshak & Link, 2021), zooplankton dynamics on continental shelves, which are a more direct link to higher trophic levels remains uncertain. Understanding of cross-shelf dynamics of zooplankton is largely limited to the Atlantic Ocean (Marcolin et al., 2013;Sourisseau & Carlotti, 2006;Vandromme et al., 2014), with limited understanding of general patterns of variability across continental shelves. As fisheries face increasing pressure, it is important to understand the drivers of fisheries productivity including zooplankton, which has been shown to support over 50% of coastal fish biomass (