Match/Mismatch Between Phytoplankton and Crustacean Zooplankton Phenology in the Strait of Georgia, Canada

The Strait of Georgia, Canada, is an important region for numerous commercially and culturally important species (e.g., herring, salmon, and orcas), yet little is known about the links between lower trophic level (e.g. phytoplankton and zooplankton) phenology due to historical sampling gaps. Here, we present fourteen years (2003-2016) of data linking interannual variability in phytoplankton and zooplankton phenology in the Central Strait of Georgia, BC. Satellite-derived chlorophyll a (Chl a) data were used to calculate spring bloom dynamics (bloom initiation, bloom intensity, and bloom magnitude). Average spring bloom initiation occurred during the last week of March in the Central Strait of Georgia. Bloom initiation occurred in mid-to-late February/early March during “early” Chl a bloom years (2004, 2005, and 2015) whereas initiation did not occur until the end of April during “late” bloom years (2007, 2008). Spring Chl a bloom initiation was significantly correlated with the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO; r = 0.75, p < 0.01) and spring sea surface temperature (SST; r = -0.70, p < 0.01); spring blooms occurred earlier during warm years. When all environmental variables were considered together, NPGO best explained variations in spring bloom initiation (Adj R2 = 0.53, p < 0.01) and bloom magnitude (Adj R2 = 0.57, p < 0.01), whereas stratification best explained variations in bloom intensity (Adj R2 = 0.38, p < 0.05). Early Chl a blooms were associated with high crustacean abundance (maximum of > 1000 ind m-3) but low biomass (37.5 mg m-3). Independent of the Chl a data, hierarchical cluster analysis revealed similar groupings of years for crustacean abundance data. Most notably, community composition in cluster Group 2 (2004, 2005, and 2015; early Chl a bloom years), was comprised of a higher proportion of small crustaceans (e.g. non-calanoid copepods) compared to the other cluster groups. To our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence linking early spring Chl a bloom timing to a shift in the crustacean community towards smaller taxa in response to multiple warm events in the Strait of Georgia. Our results show that early Chl a blooms may potentially result in a mismatch between phytoplankton and large energy-rich crustacean zooplankton, with lower abundances of the latter. In contrast, average Chl a bloom years were optimal for large-bodied euphausiids, whereas late Chl a blooms were a match for some crustaceans (e.g., medium calanoid copepods), but not others (e.g., large calanoid copepods and amphipods). We hypothesize that early bloom years may result in poorer feeding conditions for juvenile salmon and other predators in the region.