Climate-driven Shifting in Distribution Patterns of Calanus sinicus Brodsky in the Continental Shelf Waters of the Northwest Pacific Ocean

Large-scale variations in zooplankton dynamics, including the poleward movements and earlier timing of life cycle events, have been widely observed over recent decades. The biogeographical shifts are often related to the increasing sea surface temperature or the long-term climatological change, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the El Niño Southern Oscillation (NESO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). The Copepod Calanus sinicus Brodsky plays an important trophic role in the continental shelf waters of the Northwest Pacific Ocean as a grazer of phytoplankton and main food source for many ecologically and commercially important fish, such as sardine and anchovy. Because of its importance in marine ecosystem dynamics, C. sinicus was selected as one of the "keystone species" in the China-GLOBEC program. In this study, we examined the shifts in spatial patterns of the species within its distribution domain - the Yellow Sea and the northern East China Sea in the 1950s, 1980s and 2010s. We used contour mapping and a mathematical model to locate the geographical distribution center of the species. We found a significant relationship (r=0.594, P<0.05) between the monthly PDO index and the latitudes of the distribution center of C. sinicus, and a lag of two months for copepods to respond the PDO index. Our findings imply a northward shifting in the distribution center, and the northern Yellow Sea is becoming a new distribution center as another possible over-summering site of C. sinicus.