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SID 5
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Research Project Final Report
Note
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SID 5 (Research Project Final Report) is
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SID 5 (Rev. 3/06)
Project identification
MFO430
The Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey: Fisheries
Investigations
Contractor
organisation(s)
Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean
Science
The Laboratory - Citadel Hill
The Hoe - Plymouth
PL1 2PB
54. Total Defra project costs
(agreed fixed price)
5. Project:
Page 1 of 7
£
150866
start date ................
01 April 2002
end date .................
30 March 2007
6. It is Defra’s intention to publish this form.
Please confirm your agreement to do so. ................................................................................... YES
NO
(a) When preparing SID 5s contractors should bear in mind that Defra intends that they be made public. They
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Defra recognises that in a small minority of cases there may be information, such as intellectual property
or commercially confidential data, used in or generated by the research project, which should not be
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without including references to any sensitive or confidential data, the information should be included and
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Executive Summary
7.
The executive summary must not exceed 2 sides in total of A4 and should be understandable to the
intelligent non-scientist. It should cover the main objectives, methods and findings of the research, together
with any other significant events and options for new work.
The Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey, run by the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean
Science (SAHFOS), is the longest and geographically the most extensive marine biological survey in the
world.
During 2002-2007, the Defra contract MFO430 has contributed to the maintenance of the core monitoring
programme of the CPR survey and associated work that has a fisheries focus. The operational
management of the survey is quite complex, including logistics (the survey is globally operated by
commercial vessels), workshop maintenance, plankton analysis and archiving of data and samples,
possible application of the resulting data to fisheries research and the potential impact of climate change
on fisheries. The Survey relies on a team of scientists, technicians and other personnel that have many
decades of experience and knowledge, including a taxonomic skill base on phytoplankton, zooplankton
and fish larvae.
During the five years of Defra contract MFO430 the taxonomic expertise of SAHFOS has been maintained
with regular in-house analysis training. In 2003 and 2006 SAHFOS has also successfully hosted two
International Workshops on zooplankton taxonomy. Moreover, SAHFOS has published in early 2004 a
CPR Atlas (the first since 1973) showing maps with the distribution of 240 common plankton taxa in North
Atlantic (Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey Team, 2004). The Survey is at present contributing to a
taxonomic manual on zooplankton in waters around UK.
Analysis of plankton data collected by the CPR over more than 70 years have provided the first evidence
that the extensive changes in plankton production, biodiversity and species distribution, associated with
hydroclimatic changes, has had effects on fisheries production, particularly for cod, horse mackerel,
salmon and sandeels (Beaugrand & Reid, 2003; Beaugrand et al., 2003b; Frederiksen et al., 2006; Sims
et al., 2006).
Plankton provide food for larval fish at a crucial time in their life cycle, thus changes in plankton quantity
and quality can reduce the food value of the plankton, with a negative impact on fish recruitment.
The most relevant results of SAHFOS have shown that the biological manifestations of rising temperature
have variously taken the form of biogeographical, phenological, physiological and species abundance
changes (Beaugrand et al. 2002; Beaugrand et al. 2003b; Richardson & Schoeman 2004; Edwards &
Richardson, 2004). Although significant progress has been achieved in deriving correlations (e.g. the
change in plankton corresponding to the change in cod recruitment) our understanding is not yet at the
SID 5 (Rev. 3/06)
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point where reliable predictions can be made. Further studies using CPR data have been undertaken to
clarify the causes of recruitment success and failure in marine fishes. The effect of prey availability on the
growth of the larval cod larvae has been explored using plankton abundance data from the CPR in a
trophodynamic model (Pitois & Fox, submitted).
The analysis of CPR data has also been used to describe spatio-temporal patterns of fish eggs and larvae
(Coombs et al., 2005) and the unusual increase in some fish species (e.g. snake pipefish, Kirby et al.,
2006). Moreover, the survey has provided information relevant for the assessment of the ecological
status of the North Sea indicating increasing marine plastics (Thompson et al. 2004), appearance of non
indigenous species (Johns et al., 2005) and increasing frequency of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)
(Edwards et al., 2006).
The main scientific results of SAHFOS research have been achieved by applying appropriate and
innovative statistical tools to the extended CPR data set (200,000 plankton samples corresponding to 5
million nautical miles, containing information on circa 500 taxonomic entities (Richardson et al., 2006).
These included several innovative methods of time series analysis (e.g. Beaugrand et al., 2003a) and
modelling techniques (Taylor et al., 2002; de Young et al. 2004; Lewis et al., 2006) that have been applied
in collaboration with ecosystem modelling groups at the Hadley Centre and NERC laboratories.
During the last five years SAHFOS has established new collaborations with the ICES fisheries community.
In the framework of the ICES Study Group on Recruitment Variability in North Sea Planktivorous Fish
(SGRECVAP), SAHFOS has investigated the relationships between changes in quantity, quality and
seasonal timing of plankton and the poor fish recruitment seen in recent years (ICES, 2006).
Data from the WinCPR gridded database have been proved particularly valuable to the ICES REGNS
Working Group in outlining new approaches to the development of fishery advice based on an ecosystem
approach.
The redesign of the current database has been recently undertaken in order to ensure a rapid and more
efficient access to the CPR database.
The CPR programme has been a source of advice and an active part in the developing plans of the Global
Ocean Observing System (GOOS), especially the Coastal Ocean Observation Panel (COOP) and also
with the World Meteorological Organisation (WGO).
Since 1997 SAHFOS has operated CPR routes in the North Pacific and in 2006 a CPR Survey has been
established in the South Atlantic, with three tows towed by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). The
Foundation works closely with sister CPR surveys in the Southern Ocean (Australian Antarctic Division)
and off the east coast of the USA (Northeast Fisheries Center).
SAHFOS has received particular praise for its Knowledge Transfer activity in 2005 and more recently by
the moderating Panel for the NERC Oceans 2025 submission. The NERC Science and Management Audit
(SMA) consider SAHFOS as a “remarkable organisation” that is “influential in policy delivery” to
government and, in scientific output term, as being “outstanding”. SMA has noted that products such as
the SAHFOS Annual report and the North Sea plankton browser WinCPR, contribute to the “high” KT
profile of SAHFOS.
Project Report to Defra
8.
As a guide this report should be no longer than 20 sides of A4. This report is to provide Defra with
details of the outputs of the research project for internal purposes; to meet the terms of the contract; and
to allow Defra to publish details of the outputs to meet Environmental Information Regulation or
Freedom of Information obligations. This short report to Defra does not preclude contractors from also
seeking to publish a full, formal scientific report/paper in an appropriate scientific or other
journal/publication. Indeed, Defra actively encourages such publications as part of the contract terms.
The report to Defra should include:
 the scientific objectives as set out in the contract;
 the extent to which the objectives set out in the contract have been met;
 details of methods used and the results obtained, including statistical analysis (if appropriate);
 a discussion of the results and their reliability;
 the main implications of the findings;
 possible future work; and
SID 5 (Rev. 3/06)
Page 3 of 7
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any action resulting from the research (e.g. IP, Knowledge Transfer).
Scientific Objectives
1: To maintain the integrity of, and increase in increments the multidecadal databases for the core areas
of the Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey over the north west European shelf, and in the eastern
and western Atlantic.
2: To improve skills in collection, analysis and taxonomic identification, including an assessment of the
minimum spatial and temporal requirements for future long-term surveys.
3: To utilise data collected by SAHFOS to interpret pelagic ecology and in particular, long-term change.
4: To undertake a literature search and overview of modelling, neural network and other statistical
techniques for application to climate/ plankton/fish stock relationships.
5: Development of statistical tools with the aim of distinguishing between anthropogenic, climate-forced
and natural plankton variability.
6: Application of statistical tool(s) and contribution to collaborative modelling to develop understanding
of links between CPR data and long-term changes in fish stocks with the aim of developing a
predictive capability.
7: To promote the use of CPR data in new approaches to fish stock assessment within the ICES
community.
8: To ensure that SAHFOS data remains compatible with future developments in information technology.
9: To contribute to the Initial Observing Scheme of GOOS.
10: To act as a network contact for large scale operational plankton surveys as part of GOOS.
Extent to which the objectives set out in the contract have been met
1: Increasing the database. SAHFOS has successfully maintained the core monitoring programme of the CPR
survey and associated work that has a fisheries focus. CPRs have sampled on average circa ≥ 100, 000 nautical
miles (nm) providing a total of ~5,000 samples per year, for the core North Atlantic area. A few pilot tows have
been done off the north-eastern coast of Scotland (171 nm towed and 16 samples), in the South Atlantic, across
the Benguela current, South Africa (1422 nm towed and 35 samples) and from South-Georgia to the Falklands
(780 nm, samples in transit to the UK).
2: Skillbase. During the five years of Defra contract MFO430, the taxonomic expertise of SAHFOS has been
maintained with regular in-house analysis training. In 2003 and 2006 SAHFOS has also successfully hosted two
International Workshops on zooplankton taxonomy. The Workshop in 2006 has been done under the auspices of
MARBEF (Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning, network of excellence funded by the European
Union), held in a four day programme, including seminars and practical training sessions on traditional
morphological identification of Copepods and other Crustaceans (i.e. Euphausiacea, Decapoda, Mysidacea and
Stomatopoda) and on new methods of taxonomic identification such as confocal microscopy and genetic analysis.
The presentations of the Workshop contributors have been made available on SAHFOS website.
SAHFOS published, in early 2004, a CPR Atlas showing maps with the distribution of 240 common plankton taxa
in North Atlantic (Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey Team, 2004) and is at present contributing to a
taxonomic manual on zooplankton in waters around UK. This Atlas is the first since 1973.
SAHFOS is now an associate member of the “SCOR WG130 Automatic Plankton Recognition”, a newly formed
working group charged with encouraging international co-operation in the development of visual recognition and
processing of plankton images and associated metadata.
Addressing the issue of minimal spatial and temporal requirements has highlighted areas where coverage could
be improved (e.g. west of Ireland) and further coverage of inshore waters to improve the UK’s monitoring
capability for the EU water framework.
SID 5 (Rev. 3/06)
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3: Pelagic Ecology. SAHFOS has been actively describing pelagic ecology and long-term changes of plankton in
several peer reviewed journals. The most significant findings during the five years contract have shown that the
extensive changes in plankton production, biodiversity and species distribution, associated with hydroclimatic
changes, has had effects on fisheries production.
Climate warming has triggered changes at the bottom of the marine pelagic food-web, with a significant decrease
of the zooplankton and a change in the biodiversity of the dominant copepod species due to the northwards shift
of taxa characteristic of warmer waters (Beaugrand et al., 2002; Beaugrand et al. 2003b, Pitois et Fox, 2006).
Changes in the abundance of herbivorous zooplankton have followed closely those of their phytoplankton prey,
as did carnivorous zooplankton with their prey (bottom-up control of the marine pelagic environment, Richardson
& Schoeman, 2004).
The rising temperature has affected the phenology of many zooplankton taxa who’s seasonal peak has moved
forward (Edwards & Richardson, 2004). The changes in phenology have varied between different species,
functional groups and trophic levels, leading to a potential poor temporal synchrony between fish larvae and their
prey (i.e. the zooplankton).
Increasing records of Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) taxa have been reported in the North Sea. Anomalous high
frequencies of HAB blooms over the last four decades have been recorded in the late 1980s in the Norwegian
coastal region and in the Skagerrak (Edwards et al., 2006). Such changes were related to regional climate
change, in particular changes in temperature, salinity and the NAO.
4: Climate/plankton/fish stocks. Although this objective was completed in 2002, SAHFOS has continuously
improved its knowledge on numerical techniques for application to climate/ plankton/fish stock relationships
through bibliographic research or attending specific seminars. Statistical analyses of CPR plankton data and cod
recruitment data (Beaugrand et al. 2003b) have shown contemporary changes in plankton and cod, suggesting
that the regime-shift occurred in the plankton community in the North-eastern Atlantic since the mid-1980s have
resulted in an unfavourable food environment for cod larvae. Moreover changes in abundance of the plankton
from the CPR have been related with the failure in recruitment of sandeel, which is mainly a planktivorous fish
(Frederiksen et al., 2006).
5 and 6: Statistical tools for analysing variability. Several statistical methods have been applied to CPR data and
published in peer reviewed journals. These included time series analysis (e.g. Beaugrand et al., 2003a),
univariate and multivariate techniques (e.g. Edwards & Richardson, 2004), modelling (e.g. Lewis et al., 2006,
Raitsos et al., 2006) to address the issues of anthropogenic, climate and natural effects. SAHFOS has also
established and developed collaborations with ecosystem modelling groups at PML, POL and the Hadley Centre,.
7: CPR data within ICES. From 2002 to 2007, SAHFOS has strengthened its collaboration with the ICES
fisheries community. In 2006 and 2007 SAHFOS has been invited to participate at the ICES Study Group on
Recruitment Variability in North Sea Planktivorous Fish (SGRECVAP), investigating the relationships between
changes in quantity, quality and seasonal timing of plankton and the poor fish recruitment seen in recent years
(ICES, 2006). In the North Sea this has led to fishery closures and cuts in total allowable catches in sandeel,
Norway pout and herring. Since 2006, SAHFOS has participated in a three year project of the Norwegian
Research Council (RECNOR project) on the fish stock recruitment in the North Sea.
SAHFOS has provided data on plankton abundance and phytoplankton biomass (i.e. Plankton Colour Index, PCI)
to the ICES Regional Ecosystem Study Group for the North Sea (ICES REGNS), updating the gridded WinCPR
database. This dataset has already proved invaluable to work at Cefas and within REGNS in the development of
new approaches to fish stock assessment.
SAHFOS has established extensive collaborations with UK fisheries organisations (Cefas, FRS). Since early
2007 SAHFOS is involved in a contract with FRS for the study of zooplankton production.
8: SAHFOS data and IT developments. To ensure that the CPR database is compatible with developments in IT,
the current database has been redesigned. A publication on the evolution, current uses and future directions of
the CPR database has been produced (Stevens et al., 2006).
9: GOOS. The CPR programme has been source of advice for programmes under GOOS, operating an open
data policy, which is fully compliant with GOOS. SAHFOS contributed to GOOS posting annually on the SAHFOS
website CPR results for Calanus finmarchicus and Phytoplankton Colour Index (PCI), which is a proxy for
phytoplankton standing stock, averaged for CPR standard areas in the North Atlantic. Temperature data
measured on selected CPR routes is also available on the website.
SID 5 (Rev. 3/06)
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The CPR has been recognised as a fundamental tool for an integrated and sustained marine observing system
(General Joint Research Centre of the European Community, EU JRC Report 2006).
10: Networking. Since 1997 SAHFOS has operated CPR routes in the North Pacific and in 2006 a CPR Survey
has been established in the South Atlantic, with three tows towed by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). The
Foundation works closely with sister CPR surveys in the Southern Ocean (Australian Antarctic Division) and off
the east coast of the USA (Northeast Fisheries Center).
SAHFOS has received particular praise for its Knowledge Transfer activity in 2005 and more recently by the
moderating Panel for the NERC Oceans 2025 submission. The NERC Science and Management Audit (SMA)
consider SAHFOS as a “remarkable organisation” that is “influential in policy delivery” to government and, in
scientific output term, as being “outstanding”. SMA has noted that products such as the SAHFOS Annual report
and the North Sea plankton browser WinCPR, contribute to the “high” KT profile of SAHFOS.
SAHFOS has actively promoted education and knowledge about the marine environment for the public benefit by
disseminating information derived from the study of plankton populations in the oceans and coastal seas. The
products of the CPR monitoring and research programme have been made available to policy makers and the
general public in easily understood terms as part of an education /knowledge transfer (KT) programme. In the
development of instrumentation SAHFOS has also played an active KT role with industrial partners in the
development and field testing of oceanographic equipment.
The SAHFOS website (www.sahfos.org ) has a valuable role in portraying the work of the Foundation to a wider
audience and received an award from Lightspan’s Study Web as one of the best educational resources on the
web. The web site includes a comprehensive education section for primary, secondary and tertiary students and
teachers.
Future research requirements are being covered by Defra contracts currently awaiting funding confirmation.
References to published material
9.
This section should be used to record links (hypertext links where possible) or references to other
published material generated by, or relating to this project.
Refereed papers published or accepted for publication
Beaugrand, G., Reid, P.C., Ibanez, F., Lindley, J.A. & Edwards, M. 2002. Reorganization of North Atlantic
Marine Copepod Biodiversity and Climate. Science 296: 1692-1694.
Beaugrand, G. & Reid, P.C. 2003. Long-term changes in phytoplankton, zooplankton and salmon related to
climate. Global change Biology, 9: 801-817.
Beaugrand, G., Ibanez, F. & Lindley, J.A., 2003a. An overview of statistical methods applied to CPR data.
Progress in Oceanography, 58(2-4), 235-262.
Beaugrand, G., Brander, K.M., Lindley, J.A., Souissi, S., Reid, P. C. 2003b. Plankton effect on cod recruitment
in the North Sea. Nature, 426: 661-664.
Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey Team, 2004. Continuous Plankton Records: Plankton Atlas of the North
Atlantic Ocean (1958-1999). II. Biogeographical charts. Marine Ecology Progress Series, Supplement, 11-75.
Edwards, M. & Richardson, A. J., 2004. Impact of climate change on marine pelagic phenology and trophic
mismatch. Nature, 430 (7002): 881-884.
Edwards, M., Johns, D.G., Leterme, S.C., Svensen, E. & Richardson, A.J., 2006. Regional climate change and
harmful algal blooms in the northeast Atlantic. Limnology and Oceanography, 51(2), 820-829.
Frederiksen, M., Edwards, M., Richardson, A.J., Halliday, N.C. & Wanless, S. 2006. From plankton to top
predators: bottom-up control of a marine food web across four trophic levels. Journal of Animal Ecology, 75,
1259-1268.
Johns, D.G., Edwards, M., Greve, W. & John, A.W.G., 2005. Increasing prevalence of the marine cladoceran
Penilia avirostris (Dana, 1852) in the North Sea. Helgoland Marine Research, 59(3), 214-218
Kirby, R.R., Johns, D.G. & Lindley, J.A. 2006. Fathers in hot water: rising sea temperatures and a northeastern Atlantic pipefish baby boom. Biology Letters, 2, 597-600.
Lewis, K., Allen, J.I., Richardson, A.J. & Holt, J.T. 2006. Error quantification of a high resolution coupled
hydrodynamic-ecosystem coastal-ocean model: Part 3, validation with Continuous Plankton Recorder data.
Journal of Marine Systems, 63, 209-224.
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Raitsos, D.E., Lavender, S.J., Pradhan, Y., Tyrrell, T., Reid, P.C. & Edwards, M. 2006. Coccolithophore bloom
size variation in response to the regional environment of the subarctic North Atlantic. Limnology and
Oceanography, 51, 2122-2130.
Richardson, A.J. & Schoeman, D.S., 2004. Climate impact on plankton ecosystems in the Northeast Atlantic.
Science, 305(5690), 1609-1612.
Richardson, A.J., Walne, A.W., John, A.W.G., Jonas, T.D., Lindley, J.A., Sims, D.W., Stevens, D. & Witt, M.
2006. Using continuous plankton recorder data. Progress in Oceanography, 68, 27-74.
Sims, D.W., Witt, M.J., Richardson, A.J., Southall, E.J. & Metcalfe, J.D. 2006. Encounter success of free-ranging
marine predator movements across a dynamic prey landscape. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 273,
1195-1201.
Stevens, D., Richardson, A.J. & Reid, P.C. 2006. Continuous Plankton Recorder database: evolution, current
uses and future directions. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 316, 247-255.
Thompson, R.C., Olsen, Y., Mitchell, R.P., Davis, A., Rowland, S.J., John, A.W.G., McGonigle, D. & Russell,
A.E., 2004. Lost at sea: where is all the plastic? Science, 304(5672), 838.
Articles in press and Relevant Publications
EU JRC Report 2006. Marine and Coastal dimension of climate change in Europe. A report to European Water
Directors. EUR22554 (N. Hoepffner ed.).
http://ies.jrc.ec.europa.eu/fileadmin/Documentation/Reports/Varie/cc_marine_report_optimized2.pdf
ICES. 2006. Report of the Study Group on Recruitment Variability in North Sea Planktivorous Fish (SGRECVAP),
20 January 2006, IJmuiden, The Netherlands. ICES CM 2006/LRC:03. 82 pp.
www.ices.dk/reports/LRC/2006/SGRECVAP/SGRECVAP06.pdf
Lehodey, P., Alheit, J., Barange, M., Baumgartner, T., Beaugrand, G., Drinkwater, K., Fromentin, J.-M., Hare,
S.R., Ottersen, G., Perry, R.I., Roy, C., van der Lingen, & Werner, F. Climate variability, fish and fisheries.
Journal of Climate
Licandro P. In press. Plankton fluctuations and their effect on fish stock: the role of the CPR Survey.
Contribution to DEFRA Sea Fisheries Conservation Division (SFCD) year book 2007
Publications using CPR data
Coombs, S.H., Halliday, N.C., Southward, A.J. & Hawkins, S.J., 2005. Distribution and abundance of sardine
(Sardina pilchardus) eggs in the English Channel from Continous Plankton Recorder sampling, 1958-80.
Journal of the Marine Bioogical Association United Kingdom, 85, 1243-1247.
DeYoung, B., Heath, M.R., Werner, F., Chai, F., Megrey, B. & Monfay, P., 2004. Challenges of modeling of ocean
basin ecosystems. Science, 304, 1463-1466.
Pitois, S.G. & Fox, C.J. 2006. Long-term changes in zooplankton biomass concentration and mean size over the
Northwest European shelf inferred from Continuous Plankton Recorder data. ICES Journal of Marine
Science, 63, 785-798.
Taylor, A.H., Allen, J.I. & Clark, P.A., 2002. Extraction of a weak climatic signal by an ecosystem. Nature,
416(6881), 629-632.
Pitois S. & Fox, C.J. submitted. Empirical modelling of the potential effects of changes in temperature, wind and
prey availability on the growth of larval cod larvae in UK shelf seas.
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