An impact of atmospheric anomalies on zooplankton communities in the Northen Adriatic and Black Seas.

The response of the zooplankton community to different types of atmospheric anomalies was analysed by the comparison of sampling series from the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea. It was shown that the global scale atmospheric anomalies (exemplified by the North Atlantic Oscillation) could affect zooplankton communities entirely. An impact finds its way through the changes in the integrative characteristics of the zooplankton community (i.e. total copepod abundance and total mesozooplankton biomass). The mesoscale atmospheric anomalies (exemplified by the 2003 European Heat Wave) could affect zooplankton communities partially. Changes in integrative characteristics were not well pronounced. Instead, a community has responded through changes in the abundance of a certain (summer) population, which was most susceptible to this atmospheric anomaly.