Future marine zooplankton research - a perspective

Abstract

Discussions on future advances in marine zooplankton research and technology from an open meeting of marine zooplanktologists, held at Lake Arrowhead, California, USA in April 1988, led to specific recommendations for future research. Principal issues and areas of future research include: (1) characterization of individual small-scale behaviors leading to a better understanding of the dynamics of aggregation and dispersal; (2) determination of how environmental variability, rather than mean conditions, affects physiology and behavior; (3) relation of birth, death and growth rates to environmental conditions, both concurrent and past; (4) determination of nutritional requirements; (5) long-term observations of population and community dynamics which would permit analysis of interannual variability and its causes; (6) a critical need to maintain expertise in taxonomy; and (7) continued development of mathematical models encompassing biological, chemical, and physical parameters.