The Gulf of St.-Lawrence (GSL) is a dynamic region supporting a productive pelagic ecosystem. This environment presents unique opportunities to study the interactions between the population dynamics of planktonic species and the variability of physical processes. The copepod Calanus finmarchicus is a dominant component of zooplankton biomass and abundance in the GSL We developed a 3-D coupled physical-biological numerical model in order to study the population dynamics of C. finmarchicus in the GSL for the year 1999. We coupled a life cycle model of C. finmarchicus representing the average properties of the population in terms of egg production, development, migration behavior and mortality to a regional circulation model driven by realistic atmospheric, hydrological and oceanic forcing. The distribution and abundance patterns of C. finmarchicus were sensitive to the migration behavior owing to the strong vertical and horizontal shears in the circulation. Both the timing of seasonal ontogenetic vertical migrations and the diel vertical migrations appeared to be essential to produce simulation results similar to the observations and to ensure the perennial presence of a local population in the GSL. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
