TY - JOUR T1 - First description of the shelf epipelagic plankton layers at a Mediterranean basin-scale A1 - Ventero,Ana A1 - Iglesias,Magdalena A1 - Giannoulaki,Marianna A1 - Pyrounaki,Maria Myrto A1 - Leonori,Iole A1 - de Felice,Andrea A1 - Tičina,Vjekoslav A1 - Saraux,Claire A1 - Genovese,Simona A1 - Baeza,Josep A1 - Córdoba,Pilar A1 - Kapelonis,Zacharias A1 - Somarakis,Stylianos A1 - Hattab,Tarek A1 - Biagiotti,Ilaria A1 - Malavolti,Sara A1 - Juretić,Tea A1 - Bourdeix,Jean-Herve A1 - Basilone,Gualtiero A1 - Ferreri,Rosalia A1 - Aronica,Salvatore AD - Instituto Espanol de Oceanografia, Spain AD - Hellenic Center for Marine Research: Elleniko Kentro Thalassion Ereunon, grece AD - IRBIM CNR: Istituto per le Risorse Biologiche e le Biotecnologie Marine Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerce, Italy AD - Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries: Institut za Oceanografiju i Ribarstvo, croatia AD - MARBEC: Centre pour la Biodiversite Marine l'Exploitation et la Conservation, France AD - CNR-IAS, italy AD - ICTS SOCIB: Sistema d'observacio i prediccio costaner de les Illes Balear, spain AD - IEO: Instituto Espanol de Oceanografia, Spain UR - https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00787/89869/ DO - 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1757484/v1 N2 - This research represents the first approach to the study of the shelf zooplankton community at a Mediterranean scale, using acoustic standardized data collected in June-July in 10 different geographical sub-areas (GSAs) established by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) within the framework of the MEDiterranean International Acoustic Survey (MEDIAS). The analysis of the zooplankton layers based on their acoustic characteristics has revealed the potential of these surveys for the study of zooplankton at a Mediterranean basin scale and, also, the need to collect biological samples to interpret the acoustic records in terms of species. The fish population’s direct assessment is established in the MEDIAS framework, but the integration of zooplankton community data would constitute a qualitative step for the understanding of the fluctuations of fish populations and therefore to achieve the objective of an ecosystem-based management. Results have revealed the ubiquity of the zooplankton layers and its ability to form layers detectable by scientific echosounders throughout the Mediterranean at the common fish assessment frequency (38 kHz). In addition, the use of two frequencies (38 and 120 kHz) has allowed to apply the dB difference method, observing changes in the difference of the Mean Volume Backscattering Strength (∆MVBS) at 38 and 120 kHz frequencies, which would be related to changes in the composition of the zooplankton community. Y1 - 2022/07/27 PB - Research Square Platform LLC JF - Preprint IS - Version 1 ID - 89869 ER -