Allometry and the calculation of zooplankton metabolism in the subarctic Northeast Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Using measurements of respiration and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) excretion from the subarctic Northeast Pacific Ocean (August 2018), we explore the efficacy of pre-existing allometric relationships to predict metabolic rates of diel vertically migrating zooplankton, and to test taxon-specific influences on these calculations at our study site. Non-taxon-specific allometric equations were associated with our best predictive model, and they underestimated measured respiratory values by ~10%. The best prediction of DOC release from estimates of biomass used taxon-specific coefficients and overestimated DOC production by 12%. There is a distinct allometric relationship for DOC excretion that varies between taxa, and slightly higher DOC production in more carnivorous groups. This study provides uncertainty estimates for zooplankton active flux analyses in the region, and identifies important research directions for allometry in biogeochemical studies.