Smeti H. auteur aut IRD Pagano Marc auteur aut IRD Menkès Christophe auteur aut IRD Lebourges Dhaussy Anne auteur aut IRD Hunt B. P. V. auteur aut IRD Allain V. auteur aut IRD Rodier Martine auteur aut IRD de Boissieu F. auteur aut IRD Kestenare Elodie auteur aut IRD Sammari C. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access Spatial and temporal distribution of zooplankton off New Caledonia in the eastern Coral Sea was studied during two multidisciplinary cruises in 2011, during the cool and the hot seasons. Acoustic measurements of zooplankton were made using a shipborne acoustic Doppler current profiler (S-ADCP), a scientific echosounder and a Tracor acoustic profiling system (TAPS). Relative backscatter from ADCP was converted to biomass estimates using zooplankton weights from net-samples collected during the cruises. Zooplankton biomass was estimated using four methods: weighing, digital imaging (ZooScan), ADCP and TAPS. Significant correlations were found between the different biomass estimators and between the backscatters of the ADCP and the echosounder. There was a consistent diel pattern in ADCP derived biomass and echosounder backscatter resulting from the diel vertical migration (DVM) of zooplankton. Higher DVM amplitudes were associated with higher abundance of small zooplankton and cold waters to the south of the study area, while lower DVM amplitudes in the north were associated with warmer waters and higher abundance of large organisms. Zooplankton was largely dominated by copepods (71-73%) among which calanoids prevailed (40-42%), with Paracalanus spp. as the dominant species (16-17%). Overall, zooplankton exhibited low abundance and biomass (mean night dry biomass of 4.72.2 mg m(3) during the cool season and 2.40.4 mg m(3) during the hot season) but high richness and diversity (Shannon index approximate to 4). Substantially enhanced biomass and abundance appeared to be episodically associated with mesoscale features contributing to shape a rather patchy zooplankton distribution. specialized South Pacific acoustics zooplankton vertical migration water masses mesoscale dynamics PACIFIQUE NOUVELLE CALEDONIE MER DE CORAIL 036 032 120 4 2676-2700 2015 2169-9275 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010064230 10.1002/2014jc010441 2169-9275 [F B010064230] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010064230 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2015/06/010064230.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2015-07-03 2017-08-23 fdi:010064230 fre