An interdisciplinary study of the Kuroshio nutrient stream
The surface water of the Kuroshio, a western boundary current in the North Pacific Ocean, is nutrient-depleted and has relatively low primary productivity, yet abundant fish populations are supported in the region. This is called the “Kuroshio Paradox”.
Kuroshio Current: Physical, Biogeochemical and Ecosystem Dynamics presents research from a multidisciplinary team that conducted observational and modeling studies to investigate this contradiction. This timely and important contribution to the ocean sciences literature provides a comprehensive analysis of the Kuroshio.
Volume highlights include:
New insights into the role of the Kuroshio as a nutrient stream The first interdisciplinary examination of the Kuroshio Paradox Reflections on the influence of the Kuroshio on Japanese culture Research results on both the lower and higher trophic levels in the Kuroshio ecosystem Comparisons of nutrient dynamics in the Kuroshio and Gulf Stream Predictions of ecosystem responses to future climate variability
Contributors vii Preface ix Section I: Introduction 1 The Kuroshio: Its Recognition, Scientific Activities and Emerging Issues 3 Hiroaki Saito 2 The Research Advancements and Historical Episodes brought by the Kuroshio Flowing across Generations 13 Takeyoshi Nagai, Kazuyuki Otsuka, and Hiroshi Nakano 3 The Gulf Nutrient Stream 23 Josep L Pelegrí, Ignasi Valles‐Casanova, and Dorleta Orue‐Echevarría 4 On the Role of the Gulf Stream in the Changing Atlantic Nutrient Circulation During the 21st Century 51 Daniel B Whitt Section II: Physical and Biogeochemical Dynamics 5 Structure and Impact of the Kuroshio Nutrient Stream 85 Kosei Komatsu and Yutaka Hiroe 6 Multiscale Routes to Supply Nutrients Through the Kuroshio Nutrient Stream 105 Takeyoshi Nagai, Sophie Clayton, and Yusuke Uchiyama 7 Contribution of Kuroshio Recirculation to Nutrient Transport Along the Kuroshio South of Japan: An Analysis of Model Results 127 Xinyu Guo, Yingying Hu, and Yoshikazu Sasai 8 The Kuroshio‐Induced Nutrient Supply in the Shelf and Slope Region off the Southern Coast of Japan 137 Hiroshi Kuroda 9 Progress of Studies on Kuroshio Path Variations South of Japan in the Past Decade 147 Norihisa Usui 10 Island Mass Effect 163 Daisuke Hasegawa 11 Impact of Ocean Physics on Marine Ecosystems in the Kuroshio and Kuroshio Extension Regions: A High‐Resolution Coupled Physical‐Biological Model Study 175 Yoshikazu Sasai, Makio C Honda, Eko Siswanto, Sami Kato, Kazuyuki Uehara, Hideharu Sasaki, and Masami Nonaka Section III: Ecosystem Dynamics 12 Phytoplankton Distribution in the Kuroshio Region of the Southern East China Sea in Early Spring 191 Toru Hasegawa, Satoshi Kitajima, and Yoko Kiyomoto 13 Spatial Variations in Community Structure of Haptophytes Across the Kuroshio Front in the Tokara Strait 207 Hisashi Endo and Koji Suzuki 14 Variability in Taxonomic Composition, Standing Stock, and Productivity of the Plankton Community in the Kuroshio and its Neighboring Waters 223 Toru Kobari, Yurie Kobari, Hiroomi Miyamoto, Yuji Okazaki, Gen Kume, Reo Kondo, and Akimasa Habano 15 Diverse Trophic Pathways from Zooplankton to Larval and Juvenile Fishes in the Kuroshio Ecosystem 245 Yuji Okazaki, Hiroomi Miyamoto, Koji Suzuki, Hiroaki Saito, Kiyotaka Hidaka, and Tadafumi Ichikawa 16 Feeding Ecology of Chaetognath Flaccisagitta enflata in the Kuroshio Region, Western North Pacific 257 Hiroomi Miyamoto, Dharmamony Vijai, Yuji Okazaki, and Hiroaki Saito 17 Reproduction and Early Life History of Mesopelagic Fishes in the Kuroshio Region: A Review of Recent Advances 273 Chiyuki Sassa 18 Variability in Growth Rates of Japanese Jack Mackerel Trachurus japonicus Larvae and Juveniles in the East China Sea – Effects of Temperature and Prey Abundance 295 Motomitsu Takahashi, Chiyuki Sassa, Kou Nishiuchi, and Youichi Tsukamoto Index 309
Takeyoshi Nagai, Department of Ocean Sciences, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Japan. Hiroaki Saito, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Japan. Koji Suzuki, Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Japan. Motomitsu Takahashi, Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, Japan.
