Grazing of Salpa thompsoni on phytoplankton in summer in the Prydz Bay region, Antarctica

During the CHINARE-Ⅺ cruise in austral summer of 1998/1999, the abundance and feeding activity of Salps thompsoni were investigated in the Prydz Bav region. Salps samples were collected by vertical tows from the depth of 200 m to the surface with a conical net of 330 μm mesh-size. At Ⅵ-3 station, the grazing rates were studied by the gut fluorescence method and culture experiments. S. Thompsoni was mainly distributed in the northern part of the survey area, and its maximum densities reached to 2795 ind. · 1000 m-3. A dramatic decrease in salp stock was observed at the Marginal Ice Zone. The results of the feeding experiments at the Ⅵ-3 show that the gut pigment contents of S. thompsoni ranged from (0. 14 - 1.27) μig ind. -1(average 0. 98 μg ind.-1). The individual ingestion rate is 7. 9 μg ind. -1 · day-1, and the filtration rate is 28 L ind. -1 · day-1 Through the daily grazing rate of S. thompsoni, which takes account of less than 1% of the phytoplankton standing stock, it shows arelatively higher grazing impress on the primary production (72. 2 % ).