Zooplankton collected with a 2-m, 700-um net towed from surface to 120 m, aboard Palmer Station Antarctica LTER annual cruises off the western Antarctic peninsula, 2009 - 2024.

Zooplankton are a morphologically and taxonomically diverse group of animals. Many zooplankton feed on phytoplankton and thus provide a link between primary producers and higher trophic levels. Zooplankton density and biovolume were determined at grid stations on the annual LTER cruises along the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). Annual cruises take place between late December to early February, except for the NBP21-13 cruise, which was November and December. Typically, zooplankton were collected with a 2x2 meter, 700um mesh net fitted with a flow meter and towed obliquely to 120m. Zooplankton distributions vary spatially due to water column characteristics, which affect their predators' distributions. As climate change continues to affect the WAP, the relative abundance of the various zooplankton components can also be expected to change.