The missing link in marine ecosystem assessment: how zooplankton rates constrain fisheries and phytoplankton biomass

The size frequency distribution of zooplankton (size spectrum) is an innovative method for estimating their growth, predation and production as food for fish. A novel synthesis of zooplankton size distributions from tropical to polar environments intend to reveal these vital rates of pelagic ecosystems. The project will develop innovative numerical methods to understand the dynamics, carbon export, and trophic structure of zooplankton. The zooplankton rates combined with phytoplankton estimates from satellites aimed to uncover the link between phytoplankton and fisheries, and will allow to assess the active carbon transport, significantly improve ecosystem models and global assessments of environmental change.