Meso- and macro-zooplankton community structure of the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica (Summer 2010–2011)
Abstract The Amundsen Sea Polynya (ASP) has, on average, the highest productivity per unit area in Antarctic waters. To investigate community structure and the role that zooplankton may play in utilizing this productivity, animals were collected at six stations inside and outside the ASP using paire...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BioOne
2015-01-01
|
| Series: | Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://elementascience.org/article/info:doi/10.12952/journal.elementa.000033 |
| _version_ | 1819096408741904384 |
|---|---|
| author | Stephanie E. Wilson Rasmus Swalethorp Sanne Kjellerup Megan A. Wolverton Hugh W. Ducklow Patricia L. Yager |
| author_facet | Stephanie E. Wilson Rasmus Swalethorp Sanne Kjellerup Megan A. Wolverton Hugh W. Ducklow Patricia L. Yager |
| author_sort | Stephanie E. Wilson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The Amundsen Sea Polynya (ASP) has, on average, the highest productivity per unit area in Antarctic waters. To investigate community structure and the role that zooplankton may play in utilizing this productivity, animals were collected at six stations inside and outside the ASP using paired “day-night” tows with a 1 m2 MOCNESS. Stations were selected according to productivity based on satellite imagery, distance from the ice edge, and depth of the water column. Depths sampled were stratified from the surface to ∼ 50–100 m above the seafloor. Macrozooplankton were also collected at four stations located in different parts of the ASP using a 2 m2 Metro Net for krill surface trawls (0–120 m). The most abundant groups of zooplankton were copepods, ostracods, and euphausiids. Zooplankton biovolume (0.001 to 1.22 ml m-3) and abundance (0.21 to 97.5 individuals m-3) varied throughout all depth levels, with a midsurface maximum trend at ∼ 60–100 m. A segregation of increasing zooplankton trophic position with depth was observed in the MOCNESS tows. In general, zooplankton abundance was low above the mixed layer depth, a result attributed to a thick layer of the unpalatable colonial haptophyte, Phaeocystis antarctica. Abundances of the ice krill, Euphausia crystallarophias, however, were highest near the edge of the ice sheet within the ASP and larvae:adult ratios correlated with temperature above a depth of 60 m. Total zooplankton abundance correlated positively with chlorophyll a above 150 m, but negative correlations observed for biovolume vs. the proportion of P. antarctica in the phytoplankton estimated from pigment ratios (19’hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin:fucoxanthin) again pointed to avoidance of P. antarctica. Quantifying zooplankton community structure, abundance, and biovolume (biomass) in this highly productive polynya helps shed light on how carbon may be transferred to higher trophic levels and to depth in a region undergoing rapid warming. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T23:58:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3e28e2dbbc88498d9f0b33eef0dfa798 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2325-1026 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T23:58:44Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | BioOne |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene |
| spelling | doaj.art-3e28e2dbbc88498d9f0b33eef0dfa7982022-12-21T18:45:45ZengBioOneElementa: Science of the Anthropocene2325-10262015-01-0110.12952/journal.elementa.000033ELEMENTA-D-14-00003Meso- and macro-zooplankton community structure of the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica (Summer 2010–2011)Stephanie E. WilsonRasmus SwalethorpSanne KjellerupMegan A. WolvertonHugh W. DucklowPatricia L. YagerAbstract The Amundsen Sea Polynya (ASP) has, on average, the highest productivity per unit area in Antarctic waters. To investigate community structure and the role that zooplankton may play in utilizing this productivity, animals were collected at six stations inside and outside the ASP using paired “day-night” tows with a 1 m2 MOCNESS. Stations were selected according to productivity based on satellite imagery, distance from the ice edge, and depth of the water column. Depths sampled were stratified from the surface to ∼ 50–100 m above the seafloor. Macrozooplankton were also collected at four stations located in different parts of the ASP using a 2 m2 Metro Net for krill surface trawls (0–120 m). The most abundant groups of zooplankton were copepods, ostracods, and euphausiids. Zooplankton biovolume (0.001 to 1.22 ml m-3) and abundance (0.21 to 97.5 individuals m-3) varied throughout all depth levels, with a midsurface maximum trend at ∼ 60–100 m. A segregation of increasing zooplankton trophic position with depth was observed in the MOCNESS tows. In general, zooplankton abundance was low above the mixed layer depth, a result attributed to a thick layer of the unpalatable colonial haptophyte, Phaeocystis antarctica. Abundances of the ice krill, Euphausia crystallarophias, however, were highest near the edge of the ice sheet within the ASP and larvae:adult ratios correlated with temperature above a depth of 60 m. Total zooplankton abundance correlated positively with chlorophyll a above 150 m, but negative correlations observed for biovolume vs. the proportion of P. antarctica in the phytoplankton estimated from pigment ratios (19’hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin:fucoxanthin) again pointed to avoidance of P. antarctica. Quantifying zooplankton community structure, abundance, and biovolume (biomass) in this highly productive polynya helps shed light on how carbon may be transferred to higher trophic levels and to depth in a region undergoing rapid warming.http://elementascience.org/article/info:doi/10.12952/journal.elementa.000033zooplanktonAntarcticaAmundsen Sea Polynya |
| spellingShingle | Stephanie E. Wilson Rasmus Swalethorp Sanne Kjellerup Megan A. Wolverton Hugh W. Ducklow Patricia L. Yager Meso- and macro-zooplankton community structure of the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica (Summer 2010–2011) Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene zooplankton Antarctica Amundsen Sea Polynya |
| title | Meso- and macro-zooplankton community structure of the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica (Summer 2010–2011) |
| title_full | Meso- and macro-zooplankton community structure of the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica (Summer 2010–2011) |
| title_fullStr | Meso- and macro-zooplankton community structure of the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica (Summer 2010–2011) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Meso- and macro-zooplankton community structure of the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica (Summer 2010–2011) |
| title_short | Meso- and macro-zooplankton community structure of the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica (Summer 2010–2011) |
| title_sort | meso and macro zooplankton community structure of the amundsen sea polynya antarctica summer 2010 2011 |
| topic | zooplankton Antarctica Amundsen Sea Polynya |
| url | http://elementascience.org/article/info:doi/10.12952/journal.elementa.000033 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stephanieewilson mesoandmacrozooplanktoncommunitystructureoftheamundsenseapolynyaantarcticasummer20102011 AT rasmusswalethorp mesoandmacrozooplanktoncommunitystructureoftheamundsenseapolynyaantarcticasummer20102011 AT sannekjellerup mesoandmacrozooplanktoncommunitystructureoftheamundsenseapolynyaantarcticasummer20102011 AT meganawolverton mesoandmacrozooplanktoncommunitystructureoftheamundsenseapolynyaantarcticasummer20102011 AT hughwducklow mesoandmacrozooplanktoncommunitystructureoftheamundsenseapolynyaantarcticasummer20102011 AT patricialyager mesoandmacrozooplanktoncommunitystructureoftheamundsenseapolynyaantarcticasummer20102011 |