Multiscale Spatial Variability of Zooplankton Biomass and Environmental Forcing in a Coastal Reef Lagoon

The patchiness of zooplankton biomass for two size classes (190-600 μm and < 600 μm) as well as several environmental variables were examined in a coastal reef lagoon (Guadeloupe, French West Indies) in order to determine the mechanisms that contribute to the generation and maintenance of multiscale spatial variability in this community. A new form of multiscale analysis, called PCNM, was used to determine the spatial patterns of zooplankton over a continuum of scales. The analysis of physical and biological factors explaining these patterns was conducted using canonical analyses and partial Mantel tests. Multiscale analysis showed that zooplankton patterns varied with spatial scale (from microhabitat to ecosystem scale) and that the two size classes of zooplankton had different scales of spatial dependency, but they showed common patterns at some spatial scales. Our findings suggest that local hydrodynamics, phytoplankton distribution, and zooplankton behavior generate and maintain the spatial patchiness of zooplankton. There is a multiscale spatial relationship between zooplankton variability and environmental processes, but the generating mechanisms are dependent on spatial scale and change from small to large zooplankton. This work helps explain why the response of a zooplankton community to environmental forcing, in terms of biomass, may change with the size of the organisms and along the continuum of scales.