PLANKTON TRANSFERS AND COASTAL FRONT IN THE DOVER STRAIT

Zooplankton and current studies were carried out in the coastal front of the Dover Strait. We show that the maintenance of both offshore and inshore planktonic communities is due to two coupled phenomena: 1) th e residual drift of water differs in the upper and in the deeper water s; and 2) the vertical distribution of plankton differs for inshore an d offshore species. In the frontal area, the coastal species remain in the lower water layer where the residual drift is landward. Conversel y, the offshore species remain in the upper water layer where the resi dual drift is seaward.