Black Sea Monitoring Guidelines. Macroplankton (Gelatinous plankton)

The main goal of gelatinous plankton monitoring is to determine species composition, patterns of its distribution, biomass, abundance, and, using obtained data along with the other parameters, to identify their role in trophic webs and to assess their impact on the ecosystem functioning. The objectives of gelatinous plankton monitoring: o Identification of species composition, their abundance, biomass and spatial distribution; o Early registration of new non-native gelatinous macroplankton species introduction in the region; o Study of seasonal, , interannual and long-term variability in macrozooplankton abundance, biomass and species composition; o Study impact on the ecosystem state.