1 Seasonal dynamics of meroplankton in a high-latitude fjord 2 3 Helena Kling Michelsen*1, Camilla Svensen1, Marit Reigstad1, Einar Magnus Nilssen1, 4 Torstein Pedersen1 5 6 1Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, 7 Norway 8 9 * Corresponding author:
[email protected] 10 Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, 11 Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, 12 UiT the Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway. 1 13 Abstract 14 Knowledge on the seasonal timing and composition of pelagic larvae of many benthic 15 invertebrates, referred to as meroplankton, is limited for high-latitude fjords and coastal areas. 16 We investigated the seasonal dynamics of meroplankton in the sub-Arctic Porsangerfjord 17 (70˚N), Norway, by examining their seasonal changes in relation to temperature, chlorophyll 18 a and salinity. Samples were collected at two stations between February 2013 and August 19 2014. We identified 41 meroplanktonic taxa from eight phyla. Multivariate analysis indicated 20 different meroplankton compositions in winter, spring, early summer and late summer. More 21 larvae appeared during spring and summer, forming two peaks in meroplankton abundance. 22 The spring peak was dominated by cirripede nauplii, and late summer peak was dominated by 23 bivalve veligers. Moreover, spring meroplankton were the dominant component in the 24 zooplankton community this season. In winter, low abundances and few meroplanktonic taxa 25 were observed. Timing for a majority of meroplankton correlated with primary production 26 and temperature. The presence of meroplankton in the water column through the whole year 27 and at times dominant in the zooplankton community, suggests that they, in addition to being 28 important for benthic recruitment, may play a role in the pelagic ecosystem as grazers on 29 phytoplankton and as prey for other organisms.