Diversity of calanoid copepods in the North Atlantic and adjacent seas: species associations and biogeography
Beaugrand, G.; Ibanez, F.; Lindley, J.A.; Reid, Ph.C. (2002). Diversity of calanoid copepods in the North Atlantic and adjacent seas: species associations and biogeography. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 232: 179-195
Present-day patterns in pelagic biodiversity are the result of the interaction of many factorsacting at different scales. Developing an understanding of the processes that regulate the diversityof oceanic ecosystems is thus challenging. In this study, diversity of calanoid copepods wasdecomposed into species associations by means of the recent ‘indicator value method’ and multivariateanalyses. For the first time, at an oceanic basin scale and with a spatial resolution approaching themesoscale, species associations of calanoid copepods have been identified. Nine species associationswere determined and have enabled us, (1) to improve the ecological partitioning of this region, and(2) to identify the main factors that regulate pelagic biodiversity in this area. It is shown that temperature,hydrodynamics, stratification and seasonal variability of the environment are likely to be themain factors contributing to the ecological regulation of diversity of calanoid copepods. The similargeographical pattern evident between currents/water masses and the species associations suggestthat the species groups may be used as an environmental indicator to evaluate long-term changes inthe marine environment related to climate change and other increasing human-induced influences.
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