Table 1 Cascading effects of MHWs in NESAP waters during spring and summer: changes in POC accumulation, NCP and plankton community structure

MHW year	Season	∆POC surf	∆POC mesopel	∆NCP	∆Phytoplankton	∆Zoo/protozooplankton
2014	Spring	////	///	///	///	///
2014	Summer	///	///	Moderate	///	///
2015	Spring	///	High	High	○ Chlorophytes ○ Haptophytes ○ Diatom (Thalassiosiraceae, Fragilariopsis)	○ Radiolarians Acantharea and Cladococcus ○ Copepod Oithona
2015	Summer	///	High	///		○ Radiolarians Acantharea and Cladococcus ○ Copepod Oithona
2019	Spring	Extreme	Extreme	///	○ Diatoms (Chaetoceros) ○ Haptophytes	○ Radiolarians RAD-groups ○ Parasitic alveolates (Syndiales) ○ Micro-protozooplankton ○ Copepod Microcalanus
2019	Summer	///	///	High	○ Diatoms (Chaetoceros) ○ Haptophytes
2020	Spring	///	///	///	///*	No data
2020	Summer	Elevated	Elevated	///	///*	No data

Parameters with slash symbols were comparable in magnitude with non-MHW years and not included here. The years of 2015 and 2019, when we saw the biggest changes in the ecosystem, are highlighted in darker red. *Community structure information was only available for the Summer of 2020.

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