Zooplankton and ichthyoplankton samples from Makkovik Bay, Labrador

Forage fish represent a key trophic link within marine ecosystems as they funnel energy between zooplankton and top predators, such as groundfish, salmonids, birds, seals and whales. On the Labrador coast, capelin (Mallotus villosus), sand lance (Ammodytes spp.) and Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) are the main forage fish and variations in their abundance, especially capelin, have direct impacts on commercially and culturally valuable fish species. As Arctic and sub-arctic waters are warming as a result of climate change, capelin and sand lance are expected to become more abundant in northern Labrador and the Arctic and their competition with the Arctic cod, a species adapted to the polar environment, will increase. Although they could represent an important component of the Northwest Atlantic capelin population, stocks north of Lake Melville in Labrador are not monitored. This datasets provides new baseline information on the distribution and abundance of pelagic fish larvae and zooplankton in Makkovik Bay in summer.饵料鱼（forage fish）是海洋生态系统中的关键营养纽带，可在浮游动物（zooplankton）与顶级捕食者（top predators，包括底层鱼类（groundfish）、鲑形目物种（salmonids）、鸟类、海豹及鲸类）之间传导能量。在拉布拉多海岸，毛鳞鱼（capelin, Mallotus villosus）、玉筋鱼（sand lance, Ammodytes spp.）与北极鳕鱼（Arctic cod, Boreogadus saida）为主要饵料鱼类群；其种群丰度的变化，尤其是毛鳞鱼，会直接影响兼具经济与文化价值的鱼类物种。受气候变化影响，北极与亚北极水域逐渐升温，拉布拉多北部及北极海域的毛鳞鱼与玉筋鱼种群丰度预计将有所提升，它们与适应极地环境的北极鳕鱼之间的种间竞争亦将加剧。尽管毛鳞鱼可能是西北大西洋毛鳞鱼种群的重要组成部分，但拉布拉多梅尔维尔湖以北的毛鳞鱼种群至今未得到任何监测。本数据集提供了夏季马克科夫湾（Makkovik Bay）内中上层鱼类幼体与浮游动物的分布及丰度的全新基线数据。