Mesozooplankton average length during Akademik Vernadsky cruise AV3, Part III

Mesozooplankton was sampled by open-closing JUDAY net with a 36 cm ring diameter and mesh size of 0.125 mm. The open-closing mechanism used was the Nansen mechanical lock system allowing nets to be vertically towed through standard depths (0-10, 10-25, 25-50, 50-100, 100-200, 200-300, 300-500, 500-1000 m) and closed at the upper depth level. Integrated hauls (0-100, 0-200 m) were also taken. Depth of tow was evaluated by wire paid out and the angle of wire inclination. The 10-20 ml samples were preserved in 3-4% buffered formaldehyde and processed on return to the laboratory. All of copepods were identified to genus level, other taxanomic groups - to type, class, order and family levels.