Hidden underlying mechanisms for changes in mesozooplankton communities: Transport and eddy driven changes.

ABSTRACT

Mesozooplankton communities have been used extensively as reliable climate change indicators, mainly because of their rapid growth and sensitivity to environmental changes. This study explored the modifications in the taxonomic composition of the mesozooplankton community and the associated physical changes of transport-driven, eddy-driven, and marine heatwaves in the summers of the last 14 years (2009-2022) within the mixed layer of the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea/Japan Sea, where surface waters have rapidly warmed in recent decades. A slight increase was observed in the abundance of mesozooplankton from 2009 (3709 inds.m-3) to 2022 (4231 inds.m-3), with two notable peaks in 2015 (11,377 inds.m-3) and 2020 (11,184 inds.m-3), which was mainly attributed to the prevalence of Noctiluca scintillans. The first peak in 2015 showed thaliaceans to be the next dominant taxa, in which the southward direction of meandering in East Korea Warm Current (EKWC), presence of the Ulleung warm eddy, lower volume of the Western Channel (V-west) of the Korea Strait, and marine heatwaves (MHWs) did not occur. In contrast to the first peak, the second peak in 2020 showed Pyrocystis pseudonoctiluca to be the next dominant species, which may have been transported and advected by the strong V-west and eastward direction of the EKWC and the occurrence of MHWs that allowed the persistence of the subtropical species P. pseudonoctiluca. Overall, the significant increases in the second dominant mesozooplankton taxa appeared to be affected by physical changes, including transport or eddy-driven changes, along with the occurrence of strong V-west, the direction of the EKWC, and the occurrence of MHWs, which may synergistically influence the increase in the second dominant taxa during summer. This study highlights the complex interplay between notable variations in mesozooplankton communities and environmental factors, highlighting the potential consequences of different physical changes (transport-driven and eddy-driven) in this regional ocean.