The possible role of zooplankton in modulating ecosystem effects of acute oil spills in the Norwegian and Barents Seas.

The proposed project will study long-term effects of acute oil spills in the Norwegian and Barents Seas, focusing on the role of zooplankton. Zooplankton, constituting the food for e.g. herring, capelin and young cod, is central in the ecosystem; yet impo rtant questions remain unsolved. The overall aim of the project is to investigate if or how zooplankton may modulate the effect of an oil spill on fish stocks. The core element of the project is to extend the LEO project (Box I) by statistical modelling o f Norwegian and Russian plankton data, using the ecological, oceanographic and statistical modelling expertise assembled for the LEO project. While the LEO project primarily focuses on fish, oil and climate, this new project extends the work to plankton - an extension which is essential to properly understand the dynamics of the ecosystem.