Biological drivers of zooplankton patchiness

Until recently, biological drivers of plankton aggregation were underappreciated, because most studies concentrated on physical processes. New technological advances, novel experiments and theory have shifted focus to the pivotal role of behaviour in plankton patch dynamics. Our review highlights four biological drivers of zooplankton spatial patchiness and brings together recent research on well studied marine and freshwater taxa, primarily copepods and cladocerans. Diverse and powerful behavioural responses by zooplankton to physical and chemical signals are shown to contribute to the formation and breakdown of zooplankton patches over several different spatial scales.