Gathering zooplankton data has been identified by the Marine Institute’s Climate Change Research Implementation Group as one of the key climate related priorities in future years. National University of Ireland-Galway (NUIG) has recently been funded to purchase a Continuous Plankton Recorder (MI NDP funds) from SAHFOS to begin a campaign of CPR measurements in Irish waters. The Marine Institute will work with NUIG in defining a training and deployment strategy for the CPR. A review of the instrument and data from the CPR will be available one year after the project proposal.
Adjustment in a fish’s geographical range may be due to a direct response to warming or an indirect response mediated by shifts in their distribution (plankton; fish). Recent warming has also been linked to changes in the biological mechanisms and spatial distribution of plankton species in the northeastern Atlantic. Migratory fish (such as horse mackerel) may rapidly adjust their spawning/feeding locations, or migration routes, and/or timings whereas the spatial distributions of non-migratory fish (such as pipefish) may change in a more gradual manner.
Variation of the distribution of pipefishes in Irish waters, since 2003. The bubble radius is proportional to the catch density [g km-2].