Zooplankton Size Spectra in Marine Ecosystems

Zooplankton occupy a pivotal mid-trophic position in marine food webs, mediating the transfer of energy and matter from primary producers to higher consumers. Their body sizes span several orders of magnitude, and the distribution of biomass across these sizes—known as the size spectrum—offers a concise descriptor of ecosystem structure and functioning. Typically, the slope of the size spectrum approximates a power law close to −1, reflecting near-constant biomass density per logarithmic size class. Variations in this slope and in the intercept of the spectrum reveal shifts in productivity, predation pressure and nutrient regimes. Spatially, continental shelves, frontal zones and boundary currents often sustain higher zooplankton biomass and steeper spectra than open-ocean environments. Temporally, seasonal cycles of primary production, climate-driven changes in stratification and extreme events such as storms modulate community size structure. Insights into zooplankton size spectra inform predictions of fisheries yield, biogeochemical cycling and the resilience of marine ecosystems under global change.

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Zooplankton Size Spectra in Marine Ecosystems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in zooplankton size spectra in marine ecosystems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Size spectrum: The distribution of organism biomass or abundance across logarithmic body-size classes, often approximated by a power-law function.

Normalized size spectrum: A standardised representation of biomass density per size interval, adjusted to enable comparisons across different ecosystems and sampling methods.

Trophic transfer efficiency: The fraction of energy or biomass that is transferred from one trophic (or size) level to the next within a food web.

Stratification: The formation of distinct water-mass layers in the ocean owing to differences in temperature or salinity, which regulates nutrient availability and plankton distribution.

References

1. Vertically Resolved Pelagic Particle Biomass and Size Structure Across a Continental Shelf Under the Influence of a Western Boundary Current. Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans (2023).
2. Increasing nutrient stress reduces the efficiency of energy transfer through planktonic size spectra. Limnology and Oceanography (2020).
3. Sheldon spectrum and the plankton paradox: two sides of the same coin—a trait-based plankton size-spectrum model. Journal of Mathematical Biology (2017).
4. Effects of Mixing and Stratification on the Vertical Distribution and Size Spectrum of Zooplankton on the Shelf and Slope of the Northern South China Sea. Frontiers in Marine Science (2022).