Impacts of Changing Oceanographic Conditions on Meroplanktonic Communities in the Salish Sea

Abstract

Meroplankton are larval life stages of invertebrate animals that will eventually metamorphose into adult forms that live on the seafloor and comprise the majority of ecologically and economically important invertebrate animals in the Salish Sea (eg. barnacles, crabs, mussels, sea stars). Meroplanktonic larvae experience different habitats than their adult counterparts and are often more sensitive to environmental fluctuations. One such seasonal fluctuation is high temperature, low salinity pulses from the Fraser River into the Salish Sea due to snowmelt. While it is known that both high temperature and low salinity can affect larval performance in laboratory settings, little is known about how these stressors impact the abundance of meroplankton communities in nature.