An analysis of a zooplankton sampling-gear change in the CalCOFI long-term monitoring program, with implications for copepod population abundance trends

The California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) program has been systematically sampling zooplankton off the west coast of North America since 1949. In 1978, the 1-m diameter ring net used by the program was replaced with a bongo net, which consists of two 0.71-m diameter nets on a single frame. This study compares paired zooplankton samples taken with a ring net and a 0.71-m or 0.6-m bongo net to determine the relative performances of the two net types for catching calanoid copepods. Thirty-one species and stages were enumerated, along with the category ‘total female calanoids’. Twenty-one categories of calanoid copepods were abundant enough to test for effects of changes in net type. No significant differences between the nets were found after correcting for multiple testing. Statistical power was then estimated for a range of potential net effects equivalent to ratios of copepod densities between the nets of 1.1–3.0. The probability of detecting differences greater than a factor of 1.5–3.0 was high (≥80%) for total female calanoids, Metridia pacifica, Pleuromamma abdominalis edentata, P. borealis, Calanus pacificus, Eucalanus californicus and Rhincalanus nasutus. For these categories of copepods, any population changes greater than a factor of 1.5–3.0 that might be found from the CalCOFI data set can be assumed to be the result of factors other than the change in net type.