The annual production of biogenic silica in the Antarctic Ocean

The total annual production of biogenic silica (BSi) of the Antarctic Ocean is estimated at about 50 tera (T = 10¹²) mol Si. This flux is calculated using available direct measurements of integrated silicic acid uptake rates, indirect estimates from field distribution of orthosilicic acid in austral winter compared with that in austral summer and/or after conversion of ^l4C primary production using appropriate Si/C mole ratios measured for the four Antarctic subsystems: the Polar Front Zone, the Permanently Open Ocean Zone, the Seasonal Ice Zone, and the continental shelves and coastal zones. We show that most of the total production of BSi occurs in the surface layers of the Permanently Open Ocean Zone and in the Seasonal Ice Zone, the contribution of the coastal areas being less relevant. Our results fit well with the previously described distributions of the net accumulation rates of opal in Antarctic abyssal and coastal sediments. The mean ratio of net opal accumulation at the sea-bed to the net production of BSi in the surface layer of the Antarctic Ocean is about 15%.     

Variability and predictability of Antarctic krill swarm structure

Swarming is a fundamental part of the life of Euphausia superba, yet we still know very little about what drives the considerable variability in swarm shape, size and biomass. We examined swarms across the Scotia Sea in January and February 2003 using a Simrad EK60 (38 and 120 kHz) echosounder, concurrent with net sampling. The acoustic data were analysed through applying a swarm-identification algorithm and then filtering out all non-krill targets. The area, length, height, depth, packing-concentration and inter-swarm distance of 4525 swarms was derived by this method. Hierarchical clustering revealed 2 principal swarm types, which differed in both their dimensions and packing-concentrations. Type 1 swarms were generally small (<50 m long) and were not very tightly packed (<10 ind. m⁻³), whereas type 2 swarms were an order of magnitude larger and had packing concentrations up to 10 times greater. Further sub-divisions of these types identified small and standard swarms within the type 1 group and large and superswarms within the type 2 group. A minor group (swarm type 3) was also found, containing swarms that were isolated (>100 km away from the next swarm). The distribution of swarm types over the survey grid was examined with respect to a number of potential explanatory variables describing both the environment and the internal-state of krill (namely maturity, body length, body condition). Most variables were spatially averaged over scales of 100 km and so mainly had a mesoscale perspective. The exception was the level of light (photosynthetically active radiation (PAR)) for which measurements were specific to each swarm. A binary logistic model was constructed from four variables found to have significant explanatory power (P<0.05): surface fluorescence, PAR, krill maturity and krill body length. Larger (type 2) swarms were more commonly found during nighttime or when it was overcast during the day, when surface fluorescence was low, and when the krill were small and immature. A strong pattern of diel vertical migration was not observed although the larger and denser swarms tended to occur more often at night than during the day. The vast majority of krill were contained within a minor fraction of the total number of swarms. These krill-rich swarms were more common in areas dominated by small and immature krill. We propose that, at the mesoscale level, the structure of swarms switches from being predominantly large and tightly packed to smaller and more diffuse as krill grow and mature. This pattern is further modulated according to feeding conditions and then level of light.     

Validation of the stochastic distorted-wave Born approximation model with broad bandwidth total target strength measurements of Antarctic krill

In the computations of SDWBA_TTS(f) in Figure 4, the scatteredvector was integrated over all orientations in the XY plane,where X is the main axis of the krill, but a factor of 2 was     

Stakeholder perspectives on ecosystem-based management of the Antarctic krill fishery

Information about stakeholder aspirations is a fundamental requirement for ecosystem-based management, but the detail is often elusive, and debates may focus on simplistic opposing positions. This is exemplified by the Antarctic krill fishery, which, despite a current operational catch limit equivalent to just 1% of the estimated biomass and actual annual catches much lower than this, is the subject of a high-profile debate framed around ambiguous concepts such as sustainability. Q methodology was applied to explore the detailed views of representatives of three stakeholder sectors (the fishing industry, conservation-focused non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and scientists from seven countries involved in research on the krill-based ecosystem). The analysis distinguished two clear groupings, one of which included the views of all NGO participants while the other included the views of fishing industry participants and a subset of the scientists. Key differences between the groups included the priority given to different management measures, and to continued commercial fishing. However, the results also revealed considerable overlap between viewpoints. Both groups prioritised the maintenance of ecosystem health and recognised the importance of defining management objectives. Also, neither group prioritised a decrease in catch limits. This suggests that most participants in the study agree that management should improve but do not perceive a major problem in the ecosystem's ability to support current catch levels. Cooperation to identify shared management objectives based on stakeholder aspirations for the ecosystem might enhance progress, whereas polarised discussions about preferred management measures or ambiguous concepts are likely to impede progress.     

The potential distribution of adult Antarctic krill in the Amundsen Sea

Antarctic krill is the key species of ecological system in the Amundsen Sea.At present,the suitable distribution is unobtainable by scientific surveys or data from the fishery.In this paper,the maximum entropy algorithm(Maxent) was used to obtain the potential distribution of adult Antarctic krill in order to provide useful information and reasonable reference for the policy on protecting potential krill habitats around the Amundsen Sea.Occurrence points and 17 environmental variables were used ...     

Study on chemical forms of fluorine enrichment of Antarctic krill

I~IOWFluorine is one of fewer biogenic ndcroelernent, which has two thresholds. In certain extentcontent, fluorine plays an ~ant ace in constructing and growing normally for organisms. Incontrast, too high or too low content is not gabs for living being growing (Chen and Yu, 1988).In general, nuorine in seawater is known as one of conversation elements, and the average contentof nuorine of all world ocean seawater is 1. 3o rug/dln3(Chen et al., 1987).Under high fluorine seawat(lr environmen…     

Diet analysis of Antarctic krill Euphausia superba Dana

Sampling date and position are shown in Table 1.Complete E.superbasamples with fullstomach were usua1ly used.They were averagely 45 mm long and 1.5 g weight(wet).Beingconcentrated with filtered sea water,every food species from krill stomach was observed andidentified under an optical microscope,and their size was measured.     

Thermal and saline tolerance of Antarctic krill Euphausia superba under controlled in-situ aquarium conditions

As a key species of the Southern Ocean ecosystem,the thermal and saline tolerances of Antarctic krill(Euphausia superb a Dana)are relatively unknown because of the challenging environment and complicated situations needed for observation have inhibited in-situ experiments in the field.Hence,the thermal and saline tolerance of krill were examined under in-situ aquarium conditions with different controlled scenarios.According to the experiments,the critical lethal times of krill were 24h,2h and 0.5h under 9℃,12℃,and 15℃,respectively,and the estimated 50%lethal times were about 17.1 h and 1.7 h under 12℃and 15℃,respectively.Additionally,the critical lethal times(the estimated 50%lethal times)of krill were approximately 14h and 0.5h(about 22.9 h and 1.7 h)of salinity under 19.7 and 15.9,respectively.The observed critical and 50%lethal times of krill were 0.5 h and approximately 1.4 h,respectively,salinity under 55.2.The critical and 50%lethal temperatures of krill were 13℃and approximately 14.2℃,respectively.Additionally,the critical and 50%lethal salinity was 19.6 and approximately 17.5 for the lower saline(below normal oceanic salinity[34.4])environment and 50.3 and approximately 53.2 for the higher saline(above 34.4)environment,respectively.The upper thermal and saline preferences of krill can be considered 6℃and 26.8 to 41.2,respectively.These results can provide potential scenarios for predicting the possible fate of this key species in the Southern Ocean.     

A circumpolar modeling study of habitat control of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) reproductive success

A one-dimensional, temperature-dependent model is implemented to simulate the descent–ascent cycle of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) embryos and larvae. Inputs to the model are monthly mean climatologies of ambient temperature and density fields obtained from the World Ocean Atlas Database for Southern Ocean waters. Simulations are done with a 1° resolution at a circumpolar scale, south of 60°S, and the results are interpolated to a 5′ grid to match the resolution of the bottom bathymetry data. Simulations of the descent–ascent cycle using environmental conditions corresponding to the Antarctic krill spawning season (December–March) resulted in unconstrained success in completion of the cycle in water deeper than 1000 m. Continental shelf regions favorable to successful hatching of Antarctic krill embryos are limited to areas along the west Antarctic Peninsula, large areas in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas, offshore of Wilkes Land, and to the east and west of Prydz Bay. These are regions where the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front is along the shelf slope, the Antarctic Slope Front is absent, and Circumpolar Deep Water is present. The effect of seasonal variability in temperature on the descent–ascent cycle tends to enhance the probability of success in regions offshore of Wilkes Land, Queen Maud Land, and the eastern shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula later in the spawning season. The simulations show that success of the descent–ascent cycle is sensitive to initial embryo diameter and larval ascent rate. Initial embryo diameter may provide an additional constraint on success of the descent–ascent cycle, especially in continental shelf waters, where small embryos tend to encounter the bottom before hatching. The circumpolar distributions of simulated embryo hatching depth and larval success show that all regions of the Antarctic are not equal in the ability to support successful completion of the Antarctic krill descent–ascent cycle, which has implications for the overall circum-Antarctic krill distribution and for the development of nutrient and material budgets, especially for Antarctic continental shelf areas.     

Inferring trophic variation for Antarctic krill(Euphausia superba) in the Antarctic Peninsula from the austral fall to early winter using stable isotope analysis

The Antarctic krill(Euphausia superba) is a key species in the Southern Ocean ecosystem and an important link in the food web of the Antarctic ecosystem. The trophic information for this species during the transition from the austral fall to the winter is important to understand its poorly known overwintering mechanisms. However, the few studies on the topic differ in their results, in terms of both spatial and temporal variables. We investigated the size dependence and monthly and regional variation in δ~(13) C and δ~(15) N values of adult krill in the Antarctic Peninsula, in the austral fall(April to May) and the early winter(June). We aimed to examine the trophic variations of krill occurred during this period, and the relationship between krill and their feeding environment in the Antarctic marine ecosystem. The following results were obtained:(1) no significant relationship was observed between size and the δ13 C value of krill, but the δ15 N value of krill presented a remarkable association with size;(2)the δ13 C values of krill increased during the austral fall, but no remarkable variation existed at the onset of winter,and the δ15 N values were not significant different during this period;(3) mean δ15 N values of krill differed significantly between the Bransfield Strait and the South Shetland Islands. Our data imply that adult krill present size-, season-, and region-dependent trophic variation during the transition from austral fall to early winter in the Antarctic Peninsula.     

Exploitation of Antarctic marine living resources: a brief history and a possible approach to managing the krill fishery

Four major phases in the exploitation of Antarctic marine living resources are identified and briefly described, viz. exploitation of seals, whales, finfish and krill Euphausia superba Dana. The pattern of exploitation has shifted from one group of resources to another. The recent efforts of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources are considered in relation to management of finfish exploitation and to the development of a scientifically based management plan for krill. Special emphasis is given to the data required for the effective management of the krill fishery, per se, given the current limited knowledge of the potential yield of the resource and in the face of uncertainty concerning key aspects of the species' biology/ecology. A recent South African initiative aimed at developing a practical management strategy for the Antarctic krill resource is described.     

Photochemical production of the hydroxyl radical in Antarctic waters

Photochemical production rates and steady-state concentrations of the highly reactive OH radical were determined in Antarctic seawater in the Weddell-Scotia Confluence during the austral spring of 1993 and along the Antarctic Peninsula during the austral summer of 1994. OH radical photoproduction rates were 30±2 nM/day and 46±2 nM/day in surface open oceanic and coastal waters, respectively. Corresponding steady-state concentrations were 2.6×10⁻¹⁹ and 4.3×10⁻¹⁹ M which are similar to those found in tropical latitudes. In-situ irradiation experiments (drifter deployments) at different depths in the upper water column indicated that multiple sources for the OH radical existed at three Antarctic stations. Ultrafiltration studies and model calculations based on wavelength-dependent OH radical quantum yields indicated that the main sources were photochemical reactions of low molecular weight dissolved organic matter (DOM), nitrate, and nitrite. Production of the OH radical from nitrate photolysis was almost exclusively UV-B dependent, while OH radical production from nitrite photolysis was mainly UV-A dependent. OH production from DOM photolysis was both UV-A and UV-B dependent. In the upper few meters at open oceanic sites, nitrate and DOM were the dominant OH radical sources, while deeper in the water column DOM and nitrite were important because of the greater importance of UV-A with depth. During non-ozone hole conditions, nitrate contributed about 33%, while DOM plus nitrite contributed about 67% of the predicted OH radical production in open oceanic surface waters. During an ozone hole (151 Dobson units), the corresponding percentages changed to about 40 and 60% for nitrate and DOM due to the higher UV-B irradiance. Model calculations predict that during an ozone hole (151 Dobson units), OH radical production in surface waters will be enhanced by at least 20%, mostly from nitrate photolysis and to a lesser extent from DOM photochemical reactions. This study indicates that ozone hole events significantly increase OH radical production, as well as the photolysis of DOM, in Antarctic waters, and that rates can be as high or higher than those at lower latitudes, especially if differences in temperature and solar irradiance are taken into account.