Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Vertical Distribution of Gelatinous Macroplankton in the North Pacific Observed by Manned Submersibles Mir-1 and Mir-2

  • Published:
Journal of Oceanography Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The vertical distribution of several medusa species in the Kurile-Kamtchatka region of the Pacific Ocean is described. Animals were observed in the light cone from deep-sea submersibles Mir-1 and Mir-2 throughout the water column, from the surface to 5000–6000 m at four different sites. Bathy- and abyssopelagic species are noted along with the species living in an extremely wide depth range. A faunistic border is revealed at a depth of 3000 m. The contribution of gelatinous animals (medusae, siphonophores, salps) to the total deep-sea plankton biomass was estimated using a wire reference cube during nine dives in the highly productive areas of the northwest Pacific, eastern Pacific (California, Costa-Rica Dome), and subtropical oligotrophic areas.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alldredge, A. L., B. H. Robison, A. Fleminger, I. I. Torres, I. M. King and W. M. Hamner (1984): Direct sampling and in situ observation at a persistent copepod aggregation in the mesopelagic zone of the Santa Barbara Basin. Mar. Biol., 80, 75–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arsen'ev, V. S. and V. V. Leont'eva (1970): The water masses in the south part of Kurile-Kamchatka trench in the summer time of 1966. Trans. P.P. Shirshov Inst. Oceanol., 86, 10–20 (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Barham, E. G. (1966): Deep-scattering layer. Migration and composition observations from diving saucer. Science, 151, 1399–1403.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernard, F. (1958): Plankton et benthos, observés durant trois plongées en bathyscaphe au large de Toulon. Annales de l'Institut Oceanographique, 35, 287–326.

    Google Scholar 

  • Birstein, Ja. A., M. E. Vinogradov and Ju. G. Tchindonova (1954): The vertical zonation of the Kurile-Kamchatka Trench region. Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR, 95, 389–392 (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Burd, B. I. and R. E. Thomson (2000): Distribution and relative importance of jellyfish in a region of hydrothermal venting. Deep-Sea Res. I, 47, 1703–1721.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chislenko, L. L. (1968): Nomograms for Estimation of the Weight of Aquatic Organisms from Body Size and Shape. Nauka, Leningrad, 195 pp. (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamner, W. M. and I. H. Carleton (1979): Copepods swarms: attributes and role in coral reef ecosystem. Limnol. Oceanogr., 24, 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamner, W. M., L. P. Madin, A. L. Alldredge, R. W. Gilmer and P. P. Hamner (1975): Underwater observation of gelatinous zooplankton: sampling problems, feeding biology and behavior. Limnol. Oceanogr., 20(6), 907–917.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heinrich, A. K. (1993): Comparative Ecology of the Plankton Oceanic Communities. Nauka, Moscow, 160 pp. (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, J. C. and D. J. Lindsay (1999): Methodology for creating an observational database of midwater fauna using submersibles: Results from Sagami Bay, Japan. Plankton Biol. Ecol., 46(1), 75–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaufmann, P. S., W. W. Wakefield and A. Genin (1989): Distribution of epibenthic megafauna and lebens spuren on two central North Pacific seamounts. Deep-Sea Res., 36, 1863–1896.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larson, R. I., C. E. Mills and G. R. Harbison (1991): Western Atlantic midwater hydrozoan and scyphozoan medusae: in situ studies using manned submersibles. Hydrobiologia, 216/217, 311–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larson, R. I., G. I. Matsumoto, L. P. Madin and L. M. Lewis (1992): Deep-sea benthic and benthopelagic modusae: recent observations from submersibles and a remotely operated vehicle. Bull. Mar. Sci., 51, 277–286.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laval, J., C. Braconnt, C. Carre, J. Goy, P. Morand and C. E. Mills (1989): Small-scale distribution of macroplankton and micronekton in the Ligurian Sea (Mediterranean Sea) as observed from the manned submersible Cyana. J. Plankton Res., 11, 665–685.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mackie, G. O. (1985): Midwater macroplankton of British Columbia studied by submersible PISCES IV. J. Plankton Res., 7, 753–777.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robison, B. H. (1995): Light in the ocean midwaters. Sci. Am., 213, 119–127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sameoto, D. D., L. O. Jarozynski and W. B. Fraser (1980): BIONESS, a new design in multiple samples. Can. J. Fish. Aqua. Sci., 37, 722–724.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shushkina, E. A., Ju. G. Tchindonova, M. E. Vinogradov and A. M. Sagalevich (1991): Investigations on oceanic zooplankton in the Kurile-Kamchatka region studied by the deep manned submersible Mir. Okeanologia, 31, 609–615 (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Toyokawa, M., T. Toda, T. Kikuchi and S. Nishida (1998): Cnidarians and ctenophores observed from the manned submersible Shinkai 2000 in the midwater of Sagami Bay, Pacific coast of Japan. Plankton Biol. Ecol., 45(1), 61–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vinogradov, M. E. (1968): Vertical Distribution of the Oceanic Zooplankton. Nauka, Moscow, 320 pp. (in Russian); translation (1970): Publication of USA Department of the Interior and National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C., Jerusalem, 339 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vinogradov, M. E. (1997): Some problems of vertical distribution of meso-and macroplankton in the Ocean. Adv. Mar. Biol., 32, 1–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vinogradov, M. E. and E. A. Shushkina (1982): Estimation of the concentration of jellyfish, comb-jellies and Calanus in the Black Sea as observed from the manned submersible Argus. Okeanologia, 22, 473–479 (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Vinogradov, M. E. and E. A. Shushkina (1987): Functioning of the Plankton Communities in the Oceanic Epipelagial. Nauka, Moscow, 240 pp. (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Vinogradov, M. E. and E. A. Shushkina (1994): Study on vertical distribution of the North Pacific zooplankton based on quantitative estimations from manned submersible Mir. Trans. P.P. Shirshov Inst. Oceanol., 131, 41–63 (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Vinogradov, M. E. and Ju. G. Tchindonova (1994): Notes on vertical zonality of the pelagic fauna based on direct observations from submersible Mir. Trans. P.P. Shirshov Inst. Oceanol., 131, 64–75 (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiebe, P.H., K. H. Bunt, S. H. Boyd and A. W. Morton (1976): A multiple openning-closing net and environmental sensing system for sampling zooplankton. J. Mar. Res., 34, 313–326.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Nakhimovsky prosp. 36, Moscow, 117851, Russia

    Mikhail E. Vinogradov & Elvira A. Shushkina

Authors
  1. Mikhail E. Vinogradov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elvira A. Shushkina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Vinogradov, M.E., Shushkina, E.A. Vertical Distribution of Gelatinous Macroplankton in the North Pacific Observed by Manned Submersibles Mir-1 and Mir-2 . Journal of Oceanography 58, 295–303 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015813809541

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015813809541

Search

Navigation