Diel vertical migration of mesozooplankton in the northern Yellow Sea

The Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass(YSCWM),one of the most vital hydrological features of the Yellow Sea,causes a seasonal thermocline from spring to autumn.The diel vertical migration(DVM)of zooplankton is crucial to structural pelagic communities and food webs,and its patterns can be aff ected by thermocline depth and strength.Hence,we investigated zooplankton community succession and seasonal changes in zooplankton DVM at a fixed station in the YSCWM.Annual zooplankton community succession was aff ected by the forming and fading of the YSCWM.A total of 37 mesozooplankton taxa were recorded.The highest and lowest species numbers in autumn and spring were detected.The highest and lowest total densities were observed in autumn(14464.1 inds./m^(3))and winter(3115.4 inds./m^(3)),respectively.The DVM of the dominant species showed obvious seasonal variations.When the YSCWM was weak in spring and autumn,most species(e.g.Paracalanus parvus,Oithona similis,and Acartia bifilosa)stayed above the thermocline and vertically migrated into the upper layer.Calanus sinicus and Aidanosagitta crassa crossed the thermocline and vertically migrated.No species migrated through the stratification in summer,and all of the species were limited above(P.parvus and A.crassa)or below(C.sinicus and Centropages abdominalis)the thermocline.The YSCWM disappeared in winter,and zooplankton species were found throughout the water column.Thus,the existence of thermocline influenced the migration patterns of zooplankton.Cluster analyses showed that the existence of YSCWM resulted in significant differences between zooplankton communities above and below the thermocline.

Ecological impacts of the expansion of offshore wind farms on trophic level species of marine food chain

The global demand for renewable energy has resulted in a rapid expansion of offshore wind farms(OWFs)and increased attention to the ecological impacts of OWFs on the marine ecosystem.Previous reviews mainly focused on the OWFs’impacts on individual species like birds,bats,or mammals.This review collected numerous field-measured data and simulated results to summarize the ecological impacts on phytoplankton,zooplankton,zoobenthos,fishes,and mammals from each trophic level and also analyze their interactions in the marine food chain.Phytoplankton and zooplankton are positively or adversely affected by the‘wave effect’,‘shading effect’,oxygen depletion and predation pressure,leading to a ±10% fluctuation of primary production.Although zoobenthos are threatened transiently by habitat destruction with a reduction of around 60% in biomass in the construction stage,their abundance exhibited an over 90% increase,dominated by sessile species,due to the‘reef effect’in the operation stage.Marine fishes and mammals are to endure the interferences of noise and electromagnetic,but they are also aggregated around OWFs by the‘reef effect’and‘reserve effect’.Furthermore,the complexity of marine ecosystem would increase with a promotion of the total system biomass by 40% through trophic cascade effects strengthen and resource partitioning alternation triggered by the proliferation of filter-feeders.The suitable site selection,long-term monitoring,and life-cycle-assessment of ecological impacts of OWFs that are lacking in current literature have been described in this review,as well as the carbon emission and deposition.