GLOBEC NWA
Hypotheses
(GLOBEC Report #6, pp 2-3)
(GLOBEC Report #6, pp 2-3)
nIn situ growth rather than lateral exchange is the
dominant process controlling the abundance of
animals on the Bank;
nSeasonal density stratification over the S flank causes
prey aggregation in the pycnocline and
thus increased survival of predator
populations;
nTemporal changes in mixing and stratification may
control the abundance and spp.
composition of phytoplankton which in turn
may result in different rates of growth and production of herbivorous copepods in well-mixed, frontal, and
stratified regions of the Bank;
nThe occurrence of large, episodic exchanges of water and
organisms on/off the Bank contributes to variability in
popn abundances;
nSeasonal density stratification and the processes of
turbulent mixing influence predator-prey
encounter rates and thus the growth and
survival of individual organisms;
nPredation rather than starvation is the dominant source
of mortality of fish larvae; predation
rather than advective loss is the dominant
source of mortality of copepods.