The under-ice habitat constitutes a critical survival hub for zooplankton in the Central Arctic Ocean

The under-ice habitat constitutes a critical survival hub for zooplankton in the Central Arctic Ocean | Research Square Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article The under-ice habitat constitutes a critical survival hub for zooplankton in the Central Arctic Ocean Astrid Cornils, Hauke Flores, Kim Wermeyer, Philipp Anhaus, Carin Ashjian, and 14 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8853601/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The consequences of sea-ice decline for zooplankton survival in the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO) remain poorly understood, limiting predictions of ecosystem resilience. During the MOSAiC expedition (November 2019 - September 2020), we conducted the first year-round sampling of under-ice zooplankton (Ice-water interface and 10 m depth) along the Transpolar Drift using a remotely operated vehicle equipped with a zooplankton net (ROVnet). Multivariate analyses identified three spatio-seasonal community regimes: autumn and winter regimes in the Amundsen Basin, and a spring regime in both the Amundsen and Nansen Basin. Variations in taxon-specific abundances and biomass patterns indicate that the under-ice habitat shifts in function from a feeding and sheltering habitat in autumn and winter to a nursery habitat in spring. During the polar night, estimated particulate carbon supply, likely originating from sea ice, only marginally met community carbon demand. This deficit was partly offset by high trophic transfer efficiency inferred by normalized biomass size spectra (NBSS). This implies that the under-ice habitat enables zooplankton survival during the polar night at their very energetic limit, suggesting that changes in the duration and extent of sea-ice coverage will be critical for sustaining the future ecosystem functionality of the CAO. Biological sciences/Ecology/Climate-change ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Ocean sciences/Marine biology Biological sciences/Ecology/Biodiversity Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementCornilsFloresetalROVnet20260205.docx Supplementary information to: The under-ice habitat constitutes a critical survival hub for zooplankton in the Central Arctic Ocean Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information

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