11-16 July, Pemba, Cabo Delgado (Mozambique)
AFPR – Plankton Symposium V

There is increasing recognition among fishery managers that fisheries need to be managed as specific ecological entities rather than as individual species of interest. The plankton comprises a significant part of the fishery-related ecosystem. While much has been written on the role of ichthyoplankton and their nutrition, major questions involve the interactive dynamics of adult planktivorous fish, mammals (e.g., whales), and fished invertebrates with plankton. In turn, the interactive dynamics of phytoplankton, bacteria, and zooplankton set the stage for how these organisms interact with the harvested populations.
The symposium is intended to focus on these issues, highlighting the potential contributions of knowledge of plankton dynamics in the context of the ecosystem-approach to management. Planktonic recruitment processes, integrative physical-biological modeling as tools for understanding climate forcing, larval dispersal patterns and fish population structure, plankton-fish trophic interactions, observations of and methods for measuring long term changes in diversity and abundance of zooplankton and ichthyoplankton, grazing responses to harmful and nuisance algal blooms, and nutrient dynamics and primary production cycles, as well as other relevant plankton research will be featured. A plenary session will explore how plankton research and knowledge may be incorporated into strategies for ecosystem management. The symposium will conclude with a discussion of future research needs.