Zooplankton Abundance Time Series at Station L4 in the English Channel (1988-2011)

A 23-year time series (1988-2011) of zooplankton abundance collected at the L4 coastal station off Plymouth in the English Channel. The data was gathered by the Plymouth Marine Laboratory using vertical net hauls and preserved in formalin. Taxonomic analysis was primarily at the group level, with species-level detail for dominant calanoid copepods.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term population trends of zooplankton groups based on the multi-decadal time series.
• Investigating species composition changes for dominant calanoid copepods based on the species-level discrimination mentioned.
• Studying coastal ecosystem responses to environmental drivers based on the consistent sampling location and methodology.

Strengths

• Long-term temporal coverage spanning 23 years from 1988 to 2011.
• Consistent sampling methodology using vertical net hauls from a fixed coastal station (L4).
• Species-level identification for dominant calanoid copepods throughout the time series.

Limitations

• Taxonomic discrimination varies over time as different analysts participated, potentially affecting consistency.
• The lack of records for certain species in some years does not necessarily confirm species absence.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

Plymouth Marine Laboratory, data available via BODC or DOI 10.1594/PANGAEA.778092.

Collection Method

Samples collected by vertical net hauls (WP2 net, 200 µm mesh) from the sea floor to surface, stored in 4% formalin.

Time Range

1988 to 2011

Geography

Station L4, a coastal station off Plymouth in the English Channel.