BOOK OF ABSTRACTS

All names and claims expressed in this book of abstracts are solely those of the authors and do not represent those of the PICES Organization, nor those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. [...] To identify the key factors that determine the zoogeographical distribution and abundance of size-dependent thaliaceans, three cruises were conducted in the South China Sea (SCS) from early stage of before the southwest monsoon (pre-SWM) in 2009 to the peak of the northeast monsoon (peak-NEM) in 2010. [...] Here we describe the absolute and relative contribution of the major epipelagic gelatinous groups over the past 25 years of surveys along the Seward Line in the Northern Gulf of Alaska. [...] Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation 2 Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, and the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. [...] Recently, investigations of microplastics and microfibers add a layer of complexity, where both the physical traits of the particle and the chemical traits of leachable additives or adsorbed hydrophobic chemicals may drive the toxicity of these particulate contaminants.