Distribution of Zooplankton Populations Within and Adjacent to a Thermal Plume

Abstract

Zooplankton distributions in the 1-m stratum differed between ambient waters and the thermal plume of the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant. Zooplankton were most abundant in the warmest waters of the plume with the region of high densities extending over an approximate area of 0.2 to 0.3 km2. Water temperature was not a reliable indicator of alterations in zooplankton populations. Alterations were primarily due to upward vertical displacement of deep-living zooplankton. Large horizontal variability in zooplankton densities and use of conventional sampling procedures (vertically hauled nets, widely spaced stations) prevent traditionally designed monitoring programs from detecting such alterations. Zooplankton may experience indirect mortality losses in the plume if transfer of deep-living zooplankton to the surface layers makes them more visible to visual-feeding fish predators, and turbulences in the plume reduce zooplankters' ability to detect and avoid such predators.Key words: zooplankton, thermal plume, planktivorous fish, predation