Abstract
Physical (temperature and salinity) and biological (zooplankton) properties were sampled over a 15 mo period in 1988 and 1989 to monitor nearshore environmental variability in northern Monterey Bay, California, USA. During the upwelling seasons of 1988 and 1989, there were two distinct bodies of water along the sampling transect. The offshore water body was characterized by recently upwelled water (typically <12°C) while the nearshore body was significantly warmer (approaching 16°C). A sharp thermal gradient (=front) separated the two water bodies. This front persisted 6.5 km from shore throughout the upwelling season of 1988 and was present again in 1989. Zooplankton-assemblage analysis confirmed the presence of two distinct regions in northern Monterey Bay. We refer to this phenomenon as an “upwelling shadow”, which is the result of the advection of recently upwelled water bearing nutrients and larvae past coastal recesses which are equatorward of upwelling centers.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Barange, M. (1990). Vertical migration and habitat partitioning of six euphausiid species in the northern Benguela upwelling system. J. Plankton Res. 12: 1223–1237
Bray, J. R., Curtis, J. T. (1957). An ordination of the upland forest communitites of southern Wisconsin. Ecol. Monogr. 27: 325–349
Breaker, L. C., Broenkow, W. W. (1989). The circulation of Monterey Bay and related processes. Tech. Publs Moss Landing mar. Lab. 89–1: 1–91
Broenkow, W. W., Smethie, W. M. (1978). Surface circulation and replacement of water in Monterey Bay. Estuar. cstl mar. Sci. 6: 583–603
Day, R., McEdward, L. (1984). Aspects of the physiology and ecology of pelagic larvae of marine benthic invertebrates. In: Steidinger, K. A., Walker, L. M. (eds.) Marine plankton life cycle strategies. CRC Press, Boca Raton, p. 93–120
Dewees, C. M., Strange, E. M. (1984). Drift bottle observations of the nearshore surface circulation off California. 1977–1983. Rep. Calif. coop. ocean. Fish. Invest. (CalCOFI) 25: 68–73
Ebert, T. A., Russell, M. P. (1988). Latitudinal variation in size structure of the west coast purple sea urchin: a correlation with headlands. Limnol. Oceanogr. 33: 286–294
Farrell, T. M., Bracher, D., Roughgarden, J. (1991). Cross-shelf transport causes recruitment to intertidal populations in central California. Limnol. Oceanogr. 36: 279–282
Field, J. G., Clarke, K. R., Warwick, R. M. (1982). A practical strategy for analysing multispecies distribution patterns. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 8: 37–52
Graham, W. M. (1989). The influence of hydrography on the larval dynamics and recruitment of five Cancer crab species in northern Monterey Bay. M. Sc. thesis. University of California, Santa Cruz
Graham, W. M., Potts, D. C., Field, J. G. (1991). The influence of “upwelling shadows” on larval and zooplankton community distribution. EOS Trans., Am. geophys. Un. 72 (Suppl. 51): p. 60 (Abstr.)
Haury, L. R., Pieper, R. E. (1988). Zooplankton: scales of biological and physical events. In: Soule, D. F., Klepple, G. S. (eds.) Marine organisms as indicators. Springer-Verlag, New York, p. 35–72
Kingsford, M. J., Choat, J. H. (1986). Influence of surface slicks on the distribution and onshore movements of small fish. Mar. Biol. 91: 161–171
Kingsford, M. J., Wolanski, E., Choat, J. H. (1991). Influence of tidally induced fronts and Langmuir circulations on distribution and movements of presettlement fishes around a coral reef. Mar. Biol. 109: 167–180
Owen, R. W. (1981). Fronts and eddies in the sea: mechanisms, interactions and biological effects. In: Longhurst, A. R. (ed.) Analysis of marine ecosystems. Academic Press, New York, p. 197–233
Peterson, W. T., Miller, C. B., Hutchinson, A. B. (1979). Zonation and maintenance of copepod populations in the Oregon upwelling zone. Deep-Sea Res. 26A: 467–494
Pillar, S. C., Armstrong, D. A., Hutchings, L. (1989). Vertical migration, dispersal and transport of Euphausia lucens in the southern Benguela Current. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 53: 179–190
Pineda, J. (1991). Predictable upwelling and the shoreward transport of planktonic larvae by internal tidal bores. Science, N.Y. 253: 548–551
Raymont, J. E. G. (1983) Plankton and productivity in the oceans. Vol. 2. Zooplankton. Pergamon Press, New York
Roughgarden, J., Gaines, S., Possingham, H. (1988). Recruitment dynamics in complex life cycles. Science, N.Y. 241: 1460–1466
Roughgarden, J., Pennington, J. T., Stoner, D., Miller, K. (1991). Collisions of upwelling fronts with the intertidal zone: the cause of recruitment pulses in barnacle populations of central California. Acta œcol. 12: 35–51
Schwing, F. B., Ralston, S., Husby, D. M., Lenarz, W. H. (1990). The nearshore physical oceanography off the central California coast during May–June, 1989: a summary of CTD data from juvenile rockfish surveys. NOAA natn. mar. Fish. Serv. tech. Memo. U.S. Dep. Commerce SWFSC-153: 1–142
Shanks, A. L. (1983). Surface slicks associated with tidally forced internal waves may transport pelagic larvae of benthic invertebrates and fishes shoreward. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 13: 311–315
Shanks, A. L. (1985). Behavioral basis of internal-wave-induced shoreward transport of megalopae of the crab Pachygrapsus crassipes. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 24: 289–295
Shea, R. E., Broenkow, W. W. (1982). The role of internal tides in the nutrient enrichment of Monterey Bay, California. Estuar., cstl Shelf Sci. 15: 57–66
Skogsberg, T. (1936). Hydrography of Monterey Bay, California. Thermal conditions, 1929–1933. Trans. Am. phil. Soc. 29: 1–152
Sournia, A. (1988). A physical, chemical and biological characterization of the Ushant tidal front. Int. Revue ges. Hydrobiol. 73: 511–536
Strathmann, R. R. (1974). The spread of sibling larvae of sedentary marine invertebrates. Am. Nat. 108: 29–44
Taggart, C. T., Drinkwater, K. F., Frank, K. T., McRuer, J., LaRouche, P. (1989). Larval fish, zooplankton community structure, and physical dynamics at a tidal front. Rapp. P.-v. Réun. Cons. perm. int. Explor. Mer 191: 184–194. [Blaxter, J. H. S., Gamble, J. C., Westernhagen, H. von (eds.) The early life history of fish. The Third ICES Symposium, Bergen]
Tracy, D. F. (1990). Source of cold water in Monterey Bay observed by AVHRR satellite imagery. M. Sc. thesis. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California
Walker, L. M. (1984). Life histories, dispersal, and survival in marine, planktonic dinoflagellates. In: Steidinger, K. A., Walker, L. M. (eds.) Marine plankton life cycle strategies. CRC Press, Boca Raton, p. 19–34
Warwick, R. M., Clarke, K. R., Gee, J. M. (1990). The effect of disturbance by soldier crabs Mictyris platycheles H. Milne Edwards on meiobenthic community structure. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 135: 19–33
Wilkinson, L. (1988). SYSTAT: The system for statistics. SYSTAT, Inc., Evanston, Illinois
Wolanski, E., Hamner, W. M. (1988). Topographically controlled fronts in the ocean and their biological influence. Science, N. Y. 241: 177–181
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by M. G. Hadfield, Honolulu
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Graham, W.M., Field, J.G. & Potts, D.C. Persistent “upwelling shadows” and their influence on zooplankton distributions. Marine Biology 114, 561–570 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00357253
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00357253