Diel and ontogenetic variations in vertical distributions of large grazing copepods during the spring phytoplankton bloom in the Oyashio region

Short-term changes in vertical distributions of copepods during the spring phytoplankton bloom were analyzed based on day and night vertically stratified sampling (9 strata between 0 and 1000 m) with a fine-mesh (60 μm) VMPS in the Oyashio region on five occasions: 8 March, 5, 11, 23 and 29 April 2007. Responses to the bloom were varied and species-specific. Eucalanus bungii C3–C6 were resting around 400 m on 8 March. They had aroused from rest by 5 April, more completely for C6F than for C3–C4. On 29 April, newly recruited C1–C4 stayed in near-surface layers (0–50 m). Both Metridia pacifica and Metridia okhotensis showed strong diel vertical migrations (DVM). When the amount of sinking flux was sufficient (23 and 29 April), juveniles ceased DVM and stayed close to 300 m throughout the day and night, while the C6F continued DVM. Continuous DVM behavior of Metridia spp. C6F is likely related to spawning in the surface layer at night. The growth phase of juvenile Neocalanus spp. occurred shallower than 250 m. Within this depth range, vertical partitioning was observed among the species: Neocalanus flemingeri and Neocalanus plumchrus occurred above 50 m, while Neocalanus cristatus was distributed from 75 to 250 m. The boundary between two patterns was around 50–75 m. These findings are comparable to those in the eastern subarctic Pacific.