1 Descriptive Section

1.1 Indicator category

[1] “Food-Web-Base”

1.2 Indicator name

Zooplankton Diversity

Includes variable(s): Zoo_Shannon-Wiener_Diversity_index

1.3 Indicator brief description

Effective Shannon diversity calculated using 42 zooplankton taxa collected from EcoMon cruises

1.4 Indicator visualization

Zooplankton diversity is increasing in the Mid-Atlantic and on Georges Bank, but shows no trend in the Gulf of Maine. There is no vessel correction for this metric, so indices collected aboard the research vessel Albatross IV (up to 2008) and the research vessel Henry B. Bigelow (2009 - Present) are calculated separately.

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_diversity.html

Technical documentation: https://noaa-edab.github.io/tech-doc/zoo_diversity.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
Zoo_Shannon-Wiener_Diversity_index	Unitless

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

General overview: Annual

Indicator specifics:

Indicator	EPU	StartYear	EndYear	NumYears	MissingYears
Zoo_Shannon-Wiener_Diversity_index	GB	1977	2021	44	1
Zoo_Shannon-Wiener_Diversity_index	GOM	1977	2021	44	1
Zoo_Shannon-Wiener_Diversity_index	MAB	1977	2021	44	1

2.1.2.3 Spatial location, scale and extent

General overview: by EPU

Indicator specifics:

Indicator	EPU
Zoo_Shannon-Wiener_Diversity_index	GB
Zoo_Shannon-Wiener_Diversity_index	GOM
Zoo_Shannon-Wiener_Diversity_index	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?

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?

2.1.4.1 Where are source data stored?

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

[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. Trends in zooplankton community diversity may indicate changes in trophic stability over time.

2.2.2 What implications of the indicators are currently listed?

Zooplankton community diversity varies with changes in dominance of taxa. Increasing zooplankton diversity in the Mid-Atlantic is due to increases in abundance of several taxa and stable or declining dominance of an important copepod species. This suggests a shift in the zooplankton community that warrants continued monitoring to determine if managed species are affected. While still showing an overall increasing trend, the GB zooplankton community declined in diversity in 2021 due to the increase in abundance of the copepod Centropages typicus and salps. The GOM zooplankton community is usually dominated by Calanus finmarchicus, however their abundance decreased in 2021. This decrease plus an increase in abundance of other copepods (C. typicus, Metridia lucens, Oithona spp.), siphonophores, and pteropods resulted in high zooplankton diversity index in 2021.

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?