Time series of zooplankton abundance at station L4 in the English Channel from 1988 to 2011@en

Ongoing zooplankton research at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory has established a time series of zooplankton species since 1988 at L4, a coastal station off Plymouth. Samples were collected by vertical net hauls (WP2 net, mesh 200 µm; UNESCO 1968) from the sea floor (approximately 50 m) to the surface and stored in 4% formalin. Much of the zooplankton analysis has been to the level of \"major taxonomic groups\" only, and a number of different analysts have participated over the years. The level of expertise has generally been consistent, but the user should be aware that levels of taxonomic discrimination may vary during the course of the dataset. […]