title: Broad impacts of fine-scale dynamics on seascape structure from zooplankton to seabirds.
abstract: In marine ecosystems, like most natural systems, patchiness is the rule. A characteristic of pelagic ecosystems is that their 'substrate' consists of constantly moving water masses, where ocean surface turbulence creates ephemeral oases. Identifying where and when hotspots occur and how predators manage those vagaries in their preyscape is challenging because wide-ranging observations are lacking. Here we use a unique data set, gathering high-resolution and wide-range acoustic and GPS-tracking data. We show that the upper ocean dynamics at scales less than 10 km play the foremost role in shaping the seascape from zooplankton to seabirds. Short internal waves (100 m-1 km) play a major role, while submesoscale (~1-20 km) and mesoscale (~20-100 km) turbulence have a comparatively modest effect. Predicted changes in surface stratification due to global change are expected to have an impact on the number and intensity of physical structures and thus biological interactions from plankton to top predators.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR212 EME IFREMER/IRD/UM2, Avenue Jean Monnet, CS 30171, Sète Cedex 34203, France.
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bertrand
authors.affiliation: 1] Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR212 EME IFREMER/IRD/UM2, Avenue Jean Monnet, CS 30171, Sète Cedex 34203, France [2] Instituto del Mar del Perú, Esquina Gamarra y Gral, Valle s/n, Callao 05, Peru.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grados
authors.affiliation: IRD-CNRS-Sorbonne Universités (UPMC Univ. Paris 6)-MNHN, LOCEAN/IPSL Laboratory, 4 Place Jussieu, Paris 75252, France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Colas
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR212 EME IFREMER/IRD/UM2, Avenue Jean Monnet, CS 30171, Sète Cedex 34203, France.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bertrand
authors.affiliation: IRD-CNRS-Sorbonne Universités (UPMC Univ. Paris 6)-MNHN, LOCEAN/IPSL Laboratory, 4 Place Jussieu, Paris 75252, France.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Capet
authors.affiliation: IRD, UMR LEGOS, CNES/CNRS/IRD/UPS, 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, Toulouse 31400, France.
authors.forename: Alexis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chaigneau
authors.affiliation: Instituto del Mar del Perú, Esquina Gamarra y Gral, Valle s/n, Callao 05, Peru.
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR212 EME IFREMER/IRD/UM2, Avenue Jean Monnet, CS 30171, Sète Cedex 34203, France.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mousseigne
authors.affiliation: TELECOM Bretagne, UMR CNRS-3192-Lab-STICC, Brest 29238, France.
authors.forename: Ronan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fablet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D013016:Sound; D014872:Water Movements; D015048:Zooplankton / Q000502:physiology*