ZOOSWAT: A Group Study of the Structure and Function of theEpipelagic Zooplankton of the Sargasso Sea

浮游动物的丰度、群落组成和摄食活动决定了在混合层内循环或被输送到深处的有机物的数量（未被利用的浮游植物、粪便颗粒、尸体、蜕皮、粘液物质或迁徙动物）。过去的浮游生物研究集中在浮游动物的特定分类类别或大小类别上，因此忽略了浮游动物群落的全部复杂性和营养关系。本研究将全面表征和量化整个上层海洋群落及其对开放海洋初级产品的消耗，以便对光合衍生碳的通量提供准确的评估。

The abundance, community composition and feeding activity of zooplankton determines the amount of organic matter which is either recycled within the mixed layer or is transported to depth (non-utilized phytoplankton, fecal pellets, carcasses, molts, mucous material or migrating animals). Past plankton studies have focused on particular taxonomic classes or size categories of zooplankton, thus missing the full complexity and trophic relationships of the epipelagic zooplankton community. This research will comprehensively characterize and quantify the entire epipelagic community and its consumption of primary production in the open ocean in order to provide accurate assessments of the flux of photosynthetically derived carbon.