1 Descriptive Section

1.1 Indicator category

[1] “Food-Web-Base”

1.2 Indicator name

Zooplankton Abundance Anomalies

Includes variable(s): Calfin, Chaetognatha, Cirripedia, Cnidaria, Cyclopoida, Decapoda, Diplostraca, Echinodermata, Euphausiacea, Gammaridea, Hyperiidea, LgCopepods, Mollusca, Mysidacea, Ostracoda, Polychaeta, Protozoa, Pteropod, SmCopepods, Tunicate

1.3 Indicator brief description

Abundance anomalies for 20 zooplankton taxa

1.4 Indicator visualization

Abundance anomalies of small and large copepods have varied over time by EPU. Small bodied copepods and cnidarians show increasing trends in all EPUs. Large bodied copepods and euphausiids show no significant trend in any EPU.

2 SMART Attribute Section

2.1 Indicator documentation

2.1.1 Are indicators available for others to use (data downloadable)?

Yes

2.1.1.1 Where can indicators be found?

Data: https://noaa-edab.github.io/ecodata/index.html

Description: https://noaa-edab.github.io/catalog/zoo_abundance_anom.html

Technical documentation: https://noaa-edab.github.io/tech-doc/zoo_abundance_anom.html

2.1.1.2 How often are they updated? Are future updates likely?

[need sequential look at datasets for update frequency. Future requires judgement]

2.1.1.3 Who is the contact?

Ryan Morse, ryan.morse@noaa.gov; Harvey Walsh, harvey.walsh@noaa.gov; Kevin Friedland, kevin.friedland@noaa.gov

2.1.2 Gather indicator statistics

2.1.2.1 Units

Indicator	Units
Calfin	Unitless
Chaetognatha	Unitless
Cirripedia	Unitless
Cnidaria	Unitless
Cyclopoida	Unitless
Decapoda	Unitless
Diplostraca	Unitless
Echinodermata	Unitless
Euphausiacea	Unitless
Gammaridea	Unitless
Hyperiidea	Unitless
LgCopepods	Unitless
Mollusca	Unitless
Mysidacea	Unitless
Ostracoda	Unitless
Polychaeta	Unitless
Protozoa	Unitless
Pteropod	Unitless
SmCopepods	Unitless
Tunicate	Unitless

2.1.2.2 Length of time series, start and end date, periodicity

General overview: Annual

Indicator specifics:

Indicator	EPU	StartYear	EndYear	NumYears
Calfin	GB	1977	2021	45
Calfin	GOM	1977	2021	45
Calfin	MAB	1977	2021	45
Chaetognatha	GB	1977	2021	45
Chaetognatha	GOM	1977	2021	45
Chaetognatha	MAB	1977	2021	45
Cirripedia	GB	1977	2021	45
Cirripedia	GOM	1977	2021	45
Cirripedia	MAB	1977	2021	45
Cnidaria	GB	1977	2021	45
Cnidaria	GOM	1977	2021	45
Cnidaria	MAB	1977	2021	45
Cyclopoida	GB	1977	2021	45
Cyclopoida	GOM	1977	2021	45
Cyclopoida	MAB	1977	2021	45
Decapoda	GB	1977	2021	45
Decapoda	GOM	1977	2021	45
Decapoda	MAB	1977	2021	45
Diplostraca	GB	1977	2021	45
Diplostraca	GOM	1977	2021	45
Diplostraca	MAB	1977	2021	45
Echinodermata	GB	1977	2021	45
Echinodermata	GOM	1977	2021	45
Echinodermata	MAB	1977	2021	45
Euphausiacea	GB	1977	2021	45
Euphausiacea	GOM	1977	2021	45
Euphausiacea	MAB	1977	2021	45
Gammaridea	GB	1977	2021	45
Gammaridea	GOM	1977	2021	45
Gammaridea	MAB	1977	2021	45
Hyperiidea	GB	1977	2021	45
Hyperiidea	GOM	1977	2021	45
Hyperiidea	MAB	1977	2021	45
LgCopepods	GB	1977	2021	45
LgCopepods	GOM	1977	2021	45
LgCopepods	MAB	1977	2021	45
Mollusca	GB	1977	2021	45
Mollusca	GOM	1977	2021	45
Mollusca	MAB	1977	2021	45
Mysidacea	GB	1977	2021	45
Mysidacea	GOM	1977	2021	45
Mysidacea	MAB	1977	2021	45
Ostracoda	GB	1977	2021	45
Ostracoda	GOM	1977	2021	45
Ostracoda	MAB	1977	2021	45
Polychaeta	GB	1977	2021	45
Polychaeta	GOM	1977	2021	45
Polychaeta	MAB	1977	2021	45
Protozoa	GB	1977	2021	45
Protozoa	GOM	1977	2021	45
Protozoa	MAB	1977	2021	45
Pteropod	GB	1977	2021	45
Pteropod	GOM	1977	2021	45
Pteropod	MAB	1977	2021	45
SmCopepods	GB	1977	2021	45
SmCopepods	GOM	1977	2021	45
SmCopepods	MAB	1977	2021	45
Tunicate	GB	1977	2021	45
Tunicate	GOM	1977	2021	45
Tunicate	MAB	1977	2021	45

2.1.2.3 Spatial location, scale and extent

General overview: by EPU

Indicator specifics:

Indicator	EPU
Calfin	GB
Calfin	GOM
Calfin	MAB
Chaetognatha	GB
Chaetognatha	GOM
Chaetognatha	MAB
Cirripedia	GB
Cirripedia	GOM
Cirripedia	MAB
Cnidaria	GB
Cnidaria	GOM
Cnidaria	MAB
Cyclopoida	GB
Cyclopoida	GOM
Cyclopoida	MAB
Decapoda	GB
Decapoda	GOM
Decapoda	MAB
Diplostraca	GB
Diplostraca	GOM
Diplostraca	MAB
Echinodermata	GB
Echinodermata	GOM
Echinodermata	MAB
Euphausiacea	GB
Euphausiacea	GOM
Euphausiacea	MAB
Gammaridea	GB
Gammaridea	GOM
Gammaridea	MAB
Hyperiidea	GB
Hyperiidea	GOM
Hyperiidea	MAB
LgCopepods	GB
LgCopepods	GOM
LgCopepods	MAB
Mollusca	GB
Mollusca	GOM
Mollusca	MAB
Mysidacea	GB
Mysidacea	GOM
Mysidacea	MAB
Ostracoda	GB
Ostracoda	GOM
Ostracoda	MAB
Polychaeta	GB
Polychaeta	GOM
Polychaeta	MAB
Protozoa	GB
Protozoa	GOM
Protozoa	MAB
Pteropod	GB
Pteropod	GOM
Pteropod	MAB
SmCopepods	GB
SmCopepods	GOM
SmCopepods	MAB
Tunicate	GB
Tunicate	GOM
Tunicate	MAB

2.1.2.4 Management scale: all species, FMP level, species level, can it be aggregated or separated to different scales?

[Classify by hand, note gridded data if available could be applied to different species ranges]

2.1.2.5 Uncertainty metrics

Uncertainty is captured in these variables:

character(0)

2.1.3 Are methods clearly documented to obtain source data and calculate indicators?

Yes

2.1.3.1 Can the indicator be calculated from current documentation?

Data are from the publicly available plankton dataset at NCEI Accession 0187513. The accession metadata has a list of excluded samples and cruises based on Kane (2007) and Kane (2011) in addition to other collection details.

Data are processed similarly to Kane (2007) and C. Perretti et al. (2017), where a mean annual abundance by date is computed by area for each species meeting inclusion metrics set in Morse et al. (2017). This is accomplished by binning all samples for a given species to bi-monthly collection dates based on median cruise date and taking the mean, then fitting a spline interpolation between mean bi-monthly abundance to give expected abundance on any given day of the year. Code used for zooplankton data analysis can be found here. Abundance anomalies are computed from the expected abundance on the day of sample collection. Abundance anomaly time series are constructed for Centropages typicus, Pseudocalanus spp., Calanus finmarchicus, and total zooplankton biovolume. The small-large copepod size index is computed by averaging the individual abundance anomalies of Pseudocalanus spp., Centropages hamatus, Centropages typicus, and Temora longicornis, and subtracting the abundance anomaly of Calanus finmarchicus. This index tracks the overall dominance of the small bodied copepods relative to the largest copepod in the Northeast U.S. region, Calanus finmarchicus. Stratified abundance of euphausiids and cnidarians were included in the 2020 State of the Ecosystem reports. These were calculated as the log of estimated absolute number of individuals. Time series of zooplankton abundance in the spring and fall months have been presented in the 2019 Mid-Atlantic State of the Ecosystem report. Raw abundance data were sourced from the EcoMon cruises referenced above, and ordinary kriging was used to estimate seasonal abundance over the Northeast Shelf. These data were then aggregated further into time series of mean abundance by Ecological Production Unit. Time series of zooplankton diversity (effective shannon) was calculated using 42 zooplankton classifications collected fromt the EcoMon cruises, referenced above.

2.1.3.2 Is code publicly available? up to date?

2.1.3.3 Have methods changed over time?

2.1.4 Are indicator underlying source data linked or easy to find?

Source data through 2019 are publicly available here, and data through 2021 are available upon request from harvey.walsh@noaa.gov. Derived data can be found here.

2.1.4.1 Where are source data stored?

Zooplankton data are from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Resources Monitoring, Assessment and Prediction (MARMAP) program and Ecosystem Monitoring (EcoMon) cruises detailed extensively in Kane (2007), Kane (2011), and Morse et al. (2017).

2.1.4.2 How/by whom are source data updated? Are future updates likely?

Harvey Walsh, harvey.walsh@noaa.gov

[likelihood of source data updates requires judgement, enter by hand]

2.1.4.3 How often are they updated?

[Update by hand, look for source, may require judgement]

2.2 Indicator analysis/testing or history of use

2.2.1 What decision or advice processes are the indicators currently used in?

Zooplankton represent a critical trophic link from primary producers to fish in marine ecosystems.

2.2.2 What implications of the indicators are currently listed?

Check these. If they are correct, we could be seeing the less energy dense zooplankton becoming more abundant in each system.

2.2.3 Do target, limit, or threshold values already exist for the indicator?

2.2.4 Have the indicators been tested to ensure they respond proportionally to a change in the underlying process?

2.2.5 Are the indicators sensitive to a small change in the process, or what is the threshold of change that is detectable?

Unknown

2.2.6 Is there a time lag between the process change and the indicator change? How long?