DolLAYER_12 (Stratified SAB_2)

Organism aggregation, resource patchiness, and layering have long been recognized as fundamental ecosystem properties, especially in dynamic marine pelagic systems. However, integrating fine-scale (1-10 m) water column structure into our understanding of the forces that regulate marine ecosystems has proved challenging. Specifically, an overwhelming majority of marine organisms (plankton) experience their environment at fine spatial scales, which are difficult to sample, yet most measurements of chemical and biological parameters that define the structure of food webs and the flow of energy are averaged over much larger portions of the water column. This mismatch hinders our ability to understand the trophic consequences of fine-scale variability. Addressing this challenge will help to resolve key, and potentially predictable, sequences of events that change community structure and have trophic consequences that propagate throughout the food web in productive continental shelf environments. To address this knowledge gap will conduct ambitious field campaign in two shelf ecosystems with similar zooplankton taxa yet contrasting oceanographic regimes. Sampling will encompass two seasons (summer and winter) with contrasting degrees of stratification. Innovative molecular and stable-isotope measurements will allow for a robust coupling to oceanographic features and zooplankton abundance and community composition, elucidating the trophic consequences of wather column structure.