An autonomous Zooglider navigated across the California Current Front into low salinity, minty waters characteristic of the California Current proper in both summers of 2019 and 2021. Diving to 400 m depth, Zooglider transited another near‐surface frontal gradient somewhat inshore. These frontal gradients were generally associated with changes in intensity, size composition, and Diel Vertical Migration responses of acoustic backscatterers. They were also associated with pronounced changes in zooplankton community composition, as assessed by a shadowgraph imaging Zoocam. Zoocam detected a decline in concentrations of copepods, appendicularians, and marine snow in the offshore direction, and an overall shift in community structure to a higher proportion of carnivorous taxa (and, in 2019, of planktonic rhizaria). No taxon was consistently elevated at all the peak frontal gradients, but appendicularians, copepods, and rhizarians sometimes showed front‐related increases in concentration. Such frontal gradient regions represent relatively abrupt transitions to different communities of planktonic organisms and suspended marine snow particles, with consequences for predator–prey relationships and the dominant vectors of particle export into subsurface waters.

中文翻译：

---

使用自主 Zooglider 解决浮游动物群落组成和海洋雪场中的突然锋面梯度


2019 年和 2021 年夏季，一架自动 Zooglider 穿过加州洋流锋面，进入加州洋流特有的低盐度、薄荷味水域。Zooglider 潜入 400 m 深度，穿过另一个近海面锋面梯度，稍微靠近海岸。这些锋面梯度通常与声后向散射体的强度、尺寸组成和昼夜垂直迁移响应的变化有关。通过阴影成像 Zoocam 评估，它们还与浮游动物群落组成的显着变化有关。 Zoocam 检测到近海方向桡足类、阑尾类和海雪的浓度下降，群落结构整体转变为肉食类群（以及 2019 年的浮游根茎类群）比例更高。没有任何分类单元在所有峰额梯度上都持续升高，但阑尾动物、桡足类和根茎动物有时表现出与锋面相关的浓度增加。这种锋面梯度区域代表了不同浮游生物群落和悬浮海洋雪颗粒的相对突然的转变，对捕食者-猎物关系和颗粒出口到地下水域的主导向量产生了影响。