Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

CS37 Zooplankton

Date: Wednesday, February 14, 2001, Time: 2:30:00 PM

Location: Aztec

Harvey, M, , Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Mont-Joli, Canada, HarveyM@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Michaud, R, , Groupe de Recherche et d'education sur les Mammiferes Marins, Quebec, Canada, rmichaud@gremm.org

Runge, J, A, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Mont-Joli, Canada, RungeJ@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

St-Pierre, J, F, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Mont-Joli, Canada, St-PierreJF@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Joly, P, , Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Mont-Joli, Canada, JolyP@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

INTERANNUAL VARIABILITY OF THE KRILL STANDING STOCK BIOMASS IN THE LOWER ST. LAWRENCE ESTUARY: IMPACT ON FIN WHALES DISPERSION

An annual zooplankton survey was initiated in 1994 to study the spatio-temporal variability of zooplankton biomass in the lower St. Lawrence Estuary (LSLE). This survey is conducted in September at up to 48 stations along 8 transects. Systematic whale observations were made from commercial whale-watching vessels at the head the Laurentian Channel from June to September 1994 to 2000. The average number of fin whales per sighting within 2000 m radius was used as an annual index of the whale dispersion. The krill standing stock biomass was not evenly distributed within the LSLE and showed high interannual variability. The estimated average wet biomass of krill varied between 7.2 and 38.1 t·km-2 from 1994 to 2000 with the highest and the lowest values found in 1994 and 1996 respectively. The overall average biomass of krill for the whole LSLE was estimated to be 170,000 ± 90,000 t. The interannual variability of the krill standing stock biomass explains 92% of the interannual fin whale dispersion index. The ecological significance of this relationship will be discussed.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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