Mesozooplankton vertical distribution data in the Cape Bathurst polynya complex, southern Beaufort Sea

Zooplankton were collected with a multi sampler Hydrobios® equipped with nine nets of 200 µm mesh size each that was deployed either from the moonpool of the CCGS icebreaker Amundsen or from its front deck. Overall 140 profiles were made, mostly in Amundsen Gulf but also along Banks Island's west coast up to McClure Strait and in Darnley and Franklin Bays. The Hydrobios has a flowmeter providing filtered volumes directly for each net. Samples were preserved in a 4% buffered formalin solution in seawater. Zooplankton samples were sieved through 200 µm and 1000 µm sieves. The two size fractions were resuspended in water and all the organisms in a known aliquot containing approximately 300 animals were counted and identified to the lowest possible taxonomical level, and developmental stages for copepods. The data set will list the taxa at the sampling stations, their individual counts, volume sampled and depth, thus permitting the determination of species and developmental stages integrated abundances (ind.m-2) or abundances per unit volume (ind.m-3), providing a unique time series of zooplankton seasonal dynamics in the circumpolar flaw lead system.