• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.189-200
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• 2015

Mesozooplankton biomass including total biomass and size-fractionated biomass and the abundance of major taxonomic groups of copepods were studied in the Northwestern Subtropical Pacific Warm Pool (NSPWP) and the Northern East China Sea (NECS) from 2006 to 2014. Mesozooplankton biomass ranged from 0.69 to $3.08mgC/m^3$ (mean $1.12mgC/m^3$) in the NSPWP and from 10.60 to $69.10mgC/m^3$ (mean $30.33mgC/m^3$) in the NECS with higher values in spring than fall. Percent composition in the biomass of each size group of mesozooplankton varied interannually both in the NSPWP and in the NECS. The smallest size group (0.2~0.5 mm) contributed the least to total biomass in both regions, but significantly higher in the NSPWP than in the NECS. The percent composition in abundance of copepod taxonomic groups (i.e. Calanoida, Cyclopoida, and Poecilostomatoida) also fluctuated interannually. Mean composition of calanoid copepods was higher in the NECS than in the NSPWP, but the opposite pattern was observed for poecilostomatoid copepods. Mesozooplankton biomass both in the NSPWP and in the NECS was negatively correlated with Oceanic $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ Index (ONI), indicating declines in biomass during El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ periods and vice versa during Na $Ni{\tilde{n}}a$ period. The effect of El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ on variation of mesozooplankton biomass was more prominent in the NSPWP than in the NECS. These results suggest that mesozooplankton biomass both in the NSPWP and in the NECS responded to El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ events, although the biological process that explain the reduced mesozooplankton biomass might be different in both regions.