Hydrography and biochemical indicators of microplankton biomass in the Bransfield Strait (Antarctica) during January 1994

 The relationships between hydrography and spatial distribution of several biochemical indicators of microplankton biomass (chlorophyll, protein and ATP) were studied in an area covering the eastern part of the Bransfield Strait and the northern part of the Weddell Sea, during Antarctic summer (January 1994). Four hydrographic zones were identified: (a) the northern part of the Bransfield Strait, covered by waters of Bellings- hausen Sea origin; (b) a Weddell Sea water mass that affected most of the study area; (c) the Weddell-Scotia Confluence waters, observed north of Elephant Island; and (d) waters influenced by ice melting, found towards the southeastern part of the sampled area. The highest values of biomass indicators (chlorophyll a, ATP and protein) were found in the zones affected by ice-melting processes and in waters from the Bellingshausen Sea. The lowest values of all biochemical parameters were found in the Weddell Sea and in the Weddell-Scotia Confluence waters. A high variability in the hydrographic structure and the distribution of biochemical indicators was observed. The degree of stabilization of the water column, the depth of the upper mixed layer and the grazing pressure of herbivorous zooplankton played a major role in the development, accumulation and spatial variability of microplankton biomass. Received: 15 August 1995/Accepted: 18 February 1996     

Light and productivity of Antarctic phytoplankton during austral summer in an ice edge region in the Weddell-Scotia Sea

The photosynthesis-irradiance relationships (P-I curves) ofnatural plankton samples were studied in the Weddell Sea ice-edgezone, between Elephant Island and South Orkney Islands, duringthe austral summer of 1988–89. Three water bodies weredistinguished in the region: Bellingshausen Sea waters modifiedafter flowing through Drake Passage and Bransfield Strait, WeddellSea waters and Weddell Sea waters modified by melting. The stationssituated in modified Bellingshausen waters showed a net phytoplanktoncomposition which was different from that of the other two waterbodies. Weddell Sea waters and Weddell Sea waters modified bymelting of sea ice had the same net phytoplankton composition.In the area of modified Weddell Sea waters, there was an accumulationof phytoplankton in the upper 40 m (>4 mg Chl m^–1).p^B, and     

Distribution of phytoplankton and nutrients in relation to different water masses in the area around Elephant Island, Antarctica

During January March 1996 the U.S. Antarctic Marine Living Resources program carried out an extensive multidisciplinary study in a 40,000 km² sampling grid around Elephant Island, Antarctica. The physical, chemical, optical, and biological characteristics of the upper water column (0–750 m) were determined at 91 hydrographic stations. Analysis of the temperature and salinity data showed that six different hydrographic zones could be differentiated. The biological (phytoplankton distribution and abundance) and chemical (inorganic nutrient concentrations) data also showed characteristic differences within each of these six zones. In spite of high concentrations of inorganic N, P, and Si in all six zones, all stations in the northwest portion of the sampling grid (Drake Passage waters) showed very low chlorophyll-a concentrations in surface waters and a sub-surface maximum at increased depth. As stations in this zone have a relatively stable upper mixed layer of 40 m, excess macro-nutrients, and adequate solar radiation for maximal photosynthetic rates, this suggests that rates of primary production in this zone are limited by a micro-nutrient such as Fe. Phytoplankton abundance was much greater in the Bransfield Strait, in waters influenced by Bellingshausen Sea Water, and in the frontal zones where these water masses mix with Drake Passage waters. Relatively low and deeply distributed phytoplankton abundance was found at all stations in the southeastern portion of our sampling grid, where the upper water column was very weakly stratified and showed the characteristics of Weddell Sea water. The areas of enhanced phytoplankton biomass in the AMLR sampling grid roughly correspond to the areas where krill are generally also found in greater abundance. The overall biological productivity of the Elephant Island region would thus appear to be dependent upon the circulation patterns of the major water masses that intrude into this area. Received: 28 October 1996 / Accepted: 20 January 1997     

Antarctic Phytoplankton Assemblages in the Marginal Ice Zone of the Northwestern Weddell Sea

The waters around the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsulashow complex patterns of water circulation due to mixing ofdiverse water masses. Physicochemical properties of the differentwater types should affect the distribution, biomass and speciescomposition of the phytoplankton assemblages. We examined thesefeatures in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) of the northwesternWeddell Sea. Areas with the higher biomass were located in theWeddell Sea MIZ where the surface waters were relatively stabledue to the sea-ice melting. In these waters, the colonial stageof Phaeocystis antarctica and micro-sized chain-forming diatomsaccounted for 70% of the total phytoplankton carbon. Watersin the Bransfield Strait region, in contrast, were characterizedby a dominance of nanoflagellates, which accounted for 80% ofthe total phytoplankton carbon. Our observations support thehypothesis that the species composition of phytoplankton communitiesis a function of the different water mass, reflecting the physicalconditions of the upper water column, particularly its stability.     

Filling biodiversity gaps: benthic hydroids from the Bellingshausen Sea (Antarctica)

The Bellingshausen Sea constitutes the third largest sea in the Southern Ocean, though it is widely recognized as one of the less-studied Antarctic areas. To reduce this lack of knowledge, a survey to study the biodiversity of its marine benthic communities was carried out during the Bentart 2003 and Bentart 2006 Spanish Antarctic expeditions. The study of the hydroid collection has provided 27 species, belonging to ten families and 15 genera. Twenty-one out of the 27 species constitute new records for the Bellingshausen Sea, raising the total number of known species to 37, as also do nine out of the 15 genera. Candelabrum penola, Lafoea annulata, and Staurotheca juncea are recorded for the second time. Most species belong to Leptothecata. Sertulariidae with 13 species (48%) is by far the most speciose family, and Symplectoscyphus with seven species (26%), including S. bellingshauseni sp. nov. and S. hesperides sp. nov., the most diverse genus. Considering the whole benthic hydroid fauna of the Bellingshausen Sea, 18 species (69%) are endemic to Antarctic waters, either with a circum-Antarctic (12 species, 46%) or West Antarctic (6 species, 23%) distribution, 23 (88%) are restricted to Antarctic or Antarctic/sub-Antarctic waters, and only three species have a wider distribution. Bellingshausen Sea hydroid fauna is composed of a relatively high diversity of typical representatives of the Antarctic benthic hydroid fauna, though with a surprisingly low representation of some of the most diverse and widespread Antarctic genera (Oswaldella and Schizotricha), what could be related to the fact that its shelf-inhabiting hydroid fauna remains practically unknown.     

Abundance and distribution of invertebrate larvae in the Bellingshausen Sea (West Antarctica)

The central part of the Bellingshausen Sea has been poorly studied, partly because of the presence of ice during most of the year. The main aim of this study was to analyse the abundance and distribution of meroplankton, and the influence of oceanographic properties were investigated in the Bellingshausen Sea (West Antarctica) during the BENTART-06 cruise carried out in January–February 2006. Zooplankton samples were collected with a 80-μm mesh plankton net hauled vertically from a depth of 200?m to the surface at fifteen stations across the Bellingshausen Sea. Fifteen types of larval benthic invertebrates were found, with echinospira and nudibranch veligers being the most abundant. Hierarchical analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling revealed a high degree of spatial variability in both larval abundance and larval types across the Bellingshausen Sea. The variability was significantly correlated with total chlorophyll-a and the contribution of large (>5?μm) phytoplankton to total chlorophyll, indicating the availability of food as an important factor determining the larval distribution observed. Nudibranch veligers, nemertean pilidia, echinoderm and planula larvae were more abundant at stations in the central Bellingshausen Sea, which was characterized by low phytoplankton biomass and production. Higher abundances of echinospira veligers and polychaete larvae were found at the more productive stations close to Peter I Island and the Antarctic Peninsula. The abundance and diversity of larval types found in the Bellingshausen Sea during the BENTART-06 cruise support the hypothesis that indirect development through larval swimming stages plays a key role in benthic recruitment in polar areas.     

Biological activity in the antarctic zooplankton community

Summary Zooplankton biomass and respiratory ETS activity were studied along a transect at 49°W, running from open Scotia Sea water (57°S) into the Weddell Sea pack ice (62°S) in November–December 1988. Zooplankton biomass and respiratory activity were relatively high in the ice edge region and in the frontal zone separating the Scotia Sea from waters in the south; low biomasses and activities were encountered under the pack ice. The higher activities in the frontal zone were mainly attributed to locally higher water temperatures, while in the ice edge region they were probably related to changes of the Zooplankton population into more active developmental stages. This development in life stages is possibly a response to ice edge generated phytoplankton blooms. A comparison of the most abundant Zooplankton taxa indicated that amphipods and euphausiids had relatively the highest weight specific ETS activities. The developmental stages of Euphausia superba, from juvenile to sexually mature adults, showed a large variability in ETS activity; only the most inactive stages were found under the pack ice. The difference in respiration between the most active and inactive stages was at least a factor of 6 and is of importance to the overwintering of the species in the under ice habitat.Data presented here were collected during the European Polarstern Study (EPOS) sponsored by the European Science Foundation     

Biogenic particles and nano/picoplankton in water masses over the Scotia-Weddell Sea Confluence,Antarctica

Summary We studied the particle composition in the ocean surface layer (20–100 m), in terms of non-living versus living particles (< 20 m), along a transect over the Scotia Sea/Weddell Sea transition. The data are related to characteristics of the phytoplankton community and used in a Principal Component Analysis to differentiate between water masses. There was a striking change in particle community characteristics from Scotia Sea to Weddell Sea waters, especially clear at shallow depths (20 m). Total particle concentration decreased greatly moving south over the Confluence but the proportion of living particles increased enormously. This paralleled a change in the composition of the phytoplankton community, from a bloom to a regenerating system, with a striking reduction in the prominence of non-living particles. Densities of auto- and heterotrophic nanoflagellates and bacteria reached maximal values towards the southern end of the transect (8.0 × 10³cm^–3,4.6 × 10³cm^–3,1.0 × 10⁶cm^–3). The PCA based on particle characteristics and chlorophyll a, POC and PON values, distinguished Scotia from Weddell Sea waters and separated shallow from deeper stations.Data presented here were collected during the European Polarstern Study (EPOS) sponsored by the European Science Foundation     

Abundance,horizontal and vertical distribution of fish in eastern Weddell Sea micronekton

Summary The spatial distribution and species composition of high-Antarctic ichthyonekton was investigated during the EPOS 3 cruise by RV Polarstern in the eastern Weddell Sea during January–February 1989. A multiple rectangular midwater trawl was used to collect samples from the surface to near the sea floor at 11 stations along a 245 kra transect off Halley Bay. Early larval stages of 18 species, representing about 24% of the known Weddell Sea ichthyofauna, were present in the water column. The Antarctic silver-fish, Pleuragramma antarcticum, over-whelmingly dominated the catches comprising 84.5% of the 5022 specimens caught. The abundance of this species markedly increased towards the offshore end of the transect with the highest numbers occurring near the shelf-break front associated with the westerly current of the southern limb of the Weddell Gyre. The increased abundance of P. antarcticum in continental slope waters was attributed to deflection of the East Weddell Coastal Current beyond the shelf/slope break by fringing ice shelves. Most larval and juvenile fish were found in the seasonally warmed upper 0–70 m layer of the Antarctic Surface Water where conditions occurred that appeared to be favourable to both feeding and growth. Cluster analysis indicated that inner-, central-and outer-shelf assemblages were represented and that the species composition was most effectively described by reference to water mass and depth.     

Interactions in the microbial community of the marginal ice zone of the northwestern Weddell Sea through size distribution analysis

Summary Enumeration and identification of planktonic microorganisms (phytoplankton, bacteria, protozoa) were carried out for 16 stations sampled in the marginal ice zone of the northwestern Weddell Sea during sea-ice retreat in 1988 (EPOS Leg 2). From these data, carbon biomass distribution among various classes, chosen according to size and trophic mode, has been determined. This analysis reveals the general dominance of nano-phytoplankton (74 %), mainly Cryptomonas sp.. In two stations only, significant microphytoplanktonic biomass occurred. Bacterioplankton biomass was 16 % of the phytoplanktonic biomass. Protozooplankton appeared as a significant group whose biomass represented an average of 23 % of the total microbial biomass. Maximum phytoplankton and protozooplankton biomass was reached at about 100–150 km north of the receding ice edge whilst bacteria did not show marked spatial variations. From these results, indirect evidence for close relationships between protozoa and bacteria, as well as protozoa and autotrophs, is given. The size range of autotrophic prey and predators overlaps (equivalent spherical diameter range = 6 to 11 m). This size overlapping increases the complexity of the trophic organization of the microbial community. Our results thus support the idea of a flux of energy not always oriented towards an increasing particle size range. Potential ingestion rate, calculated from a mean clearance rate in the literature, indicated that protozooplankton might ingest as high as 48 % of the daily phytoplankton production in the marginal ice zone.Data presented here were collected during the European Polarstern Study (EPOS) sponsored by the European Science Foundation     

Effects of hydrographic variability on the spatial, seasonal and diel diving patterns of southern elephant seals in the eastern Weddell Sea

Weddell Sea hydrography and circulation is driven by influx of Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) at its eastern margin. Entrainment and upwelling of this high-nutrient, oxygen-depleted water mass within the Weddell Gyre also supports the mesopelagic ecosystem within the gyre and the rich benthic community along the Antarctic shelf. We used Conductivity-Temperature-Depth Satellite Relay Data Loggers (CTD-SRDLs) to examine the importance of hydrographic variability, ice cover and season on the movements and diving behavior of southern elephant seals in the eastern Weddell Sea region during their overwinter feeding trips from Bouvetøya. We developed a model describing diving depth as a function of local time of day to account for diel variation in diving behavior. Seals feeding in pelagic ice-free waters during the summer months displayed clear diel variation, with daytime dives reaching 500-1500 m and night-time targeting of the subsurface temperature and salinity maxima characteristic of CDW around 150–300 meters. This pattern was especially clear in the Weddell Cold and Warm Regimes within the gyre, occurred in the ACC, but was absent at the Dronning Maud Land shelf region where seals fed benthically. Diel variation was almost absent in pelagic feeding areas covered by winter sea ice, where seals targeted deep layers around 500–700 meters. Thus, elephant seals appear to switch between feeding strategies when moving between oceanic regimes or in response to seasonal environmental conditions. While they are on the shelf, they exploit the locally-rich benthic ecosystem, while diel patterns in pelagic waters in summer are probably a response to strong vertical migration patterns within the copepod-based pelagic food web. Behavioral flexibility that permits such switching between different feeding strategies may have important consequences regarding the potential for southern elephant seals to adapt to variability or systematic changes in their environment resulting from climate change.     

Hydroid assemblages from the Bellingshausen Sea (Antarctica): environmental factors behind their spatial distribution

Although scientific knowledge about the biodiversity of Antarctic benthic hydrozoans has considerably increased in recent years, little is known about their spatial distribution and underpinning factors. Trying to contribute to filling this gap, benthic hydroid spatial distribution in the Bellingshausen Sea (Southern Ocean) was studied. Samples were collected at 32 stations at depths between 86 and 3,304 m during Spanish Antarctic expeditions in 2003 and 2006. Sediments and bottom water properties were analyzed using an USNEL-type box corer and a Neil Brown Instrument System Mark III CTD, respectively. Forty species were reported (Acryptolaria sp., Stegopoma plicatile, Staurotheca dichotoma having the highest percentages of occurrence), representing ca. 19 % of the species richness of the known benthic hydroid fauna of the Southern Ocean. Three well-defined assemblages (shallow, deep and transitional) were established based on significant differences in species occurrence. Benthic hydroid spatial distribution in the Bellingshausen Sea seems to be controlled mainly by depth and substrate (most hydrozoan species are epibiotic), by species dispersal abilities and by species resilience to changing hydrodynamic conditions. The level of species richness found in the present study, compared with other Antarctic areas, gives support to arguments stated by authors against the idea that the Bellingshausen Sea is “a benthos desert” controlled by oligotrophic conditions and intense iceberg traffic.     

Planktonic food chains of a highly humic lake

The development and metabolism of the plankton of a highly humic lake were followed over the vernal primary production maximum. The study was made in a mesocosm in which large filter feeders, typical of this lake in summer, were absent. During the rising phase of phytoplankton, the community was predominantly autotrophic. The most important constituents in the algal biomass were a dinoflagellate, Gymnodinium sp. (40–50%), and a prasinophycean, Scourfieldia cordiformis (7%). The biomasses of Chlamydomonas spp. and Chrysococcus spp. reached their maxima a few days later and Cryptomonas sp. became most abundant at the end of the experiment. After the phytoplankton maximum, about one week from the beginning ofthe experiment, grazing of algae by phagotrophic protozoans and phosphate depletion led to a rapid decrease of algal biomass and the community became predominantly heterotrophic. In spite of a large variation in algal biomass and primary production, the biomass of bacteria remained of the same order of magnitude as in algae both before and after the algal maximum. Bacteria were mostly responsible for the plankton respiration, which also showed no dependence on primary production. Since exudation by phytoplankton was also low, the nutrition of bacterioplankton was probably mainly based on allochthonous dissolved organic matter rather than or primary production. Thus the production of bacteria was an additional food source for higher trophic levels along with phytoplankton. Because filter feeding zooplankton was absent in the experiment, protozoans were the only grazers utilizing algae and bacteria. Essentially all growth of bacteria was used by bacterivores.     

Oocyte development and gonad production of Nematocarcinus lanceopes (Decapoda: Caridea) in the eastern Weddell Sea, Antarctica

 Nematocarcinus lanceopes Bate 1888 is the only decapod that occurs in large numbers on the continental slope of the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Histological examination of the female gonads and analyses of oocyte growth indicate a biannual reproduction cycle with seasonal occyte maturation in this species. Vitellogenic development is estimated to take 2 years and culminates during summer. Females spawn three times, every 2nd year, while they grow from 27 to 34 mm carapace length. Based on these results the calculated female gonad production is 184 g wet mass (70.5 g dry mass)/total catch, which is high compared to shrimp populations on the continental shelf of the Weddell Sea. Seasonal reproductive patterns of N. lanceopes seem to reflect oscillating food conditions in the Antarctic Weddell Sea. This mode of reproduction differs from all other Nematocarcinidae, which release eggs the whole year round. The ability to adapt the reproductive cycle to a seasonal productivity pattern may have been an important factor in extending the distribution range of the deep-water genus Nematocarcinus into Antarctic waters. Received: 3 January 1996/Accepted: 28 April 1996     

Quantitative analysis of soft-bottom polychaetes of the Bellingshausen Sea and Gerlache Strait (Antarctica)

The basin off the Bellingshausen Sea, in contrast to other better known areas such as the Antarctic Peninsula and the Ross and Weddell Seas, has been little investigated due to remoteness and the prevalence of ice for most of the year. The present study focuses on an analysis of polychaetes collected from soft bottoms of this sea and off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula (Gerlache Strait) by means of a box-corer (25 × 25 cm) in two intensive surveys carried out during austral summers of 2002–2003 and 2005–2006 (BENTART-03 and BENTART-06). Three different polychaete assemblages were determined from the classification and ordination analyses of sampling stations based on the Bray-Curtis similarity index. One group of stations encompassed the deep stations from the shelf of the Bellingshausen Sea, the second one the shallower stations from the same area and the third one those stations located near the coast of Peter I Island and Gerlache Strait, off the Antarctic Peninsula. The environmental variables involved in segregating these groups were several sedimentary features (redox potential, gravel content) and depth. The present study provides further support to previous ones that considered the shelf of the Bellingshausen Sea as a differentiated region within the Southern Ocean, clearly distinct to the adjacent Weddell and Scott Seas and the Antarctic Peninsula.     

Phytoplankton distribution and production along a wide environmental gradient in the South-West Atlantic off Uruguay

We investigated phytoplankton biomass, assemblage structure and production along an environmental gradient to evaluate if chlorophyll-a (as proxy for biomass) and primary production peaked under conditions hypothesised to favour phytoplankton growth. During Spring 2003, a wide area from shallow estuarine waters to the shelf slope off the Río de la Plata was sampled and routine measurements included CTD profiles, nutrients, chlorophyll-a, phytoplankton composition and abundance, seston and organic matter loads, downwelling light and, at selected stations, production versus irradiance experiments. Spatial differences in abiotic variables suggested distinct hydrographic zones that differed in phytoplankton biomass and productivity. Chlorophyll-a was highest under estuarine influence and peaked at low salinity when strong stratification developed in the outer estuary, and was minimum at the shelf break and slope. In that area, however, relatively high chlorophyll-a was associated to oceanographic fronts and to the occurrence of Sub Antarctic water within the photic depth range. Productivity was maximum in shallow waters, but biomass-specific productivity peaked at the outer shelf in oceanographic fronts or in upwelled Sub Antarctic waters. Over shelf and slope waters productivity and biomass were not tightly coupled, as indicated by situations of high biomass and low productivity (Station 9), low biomass and high productivity (Station 10), or both high biomass and productivity (Station 22). Ordination analysis of phytoplankton taxa suggested that assemblages changed gradually along the environmental gradient and correlated to abiotic variables defining geographic zones. Overall results were consistent with an interpretation that phytoplankton biomass and growth were modulated by light in estuarine and coastal waters, and by hydrographic processes on the continental shelf and slope. Handling editor: Luigi Naselli-Flores     

Effect of the abundance of three predominating copepod species on adequate sample volume and sample size in Bransfield Strait (Antarctic Peninsula) and waters north of the Weddell Sea

Summary The effect on adequate sample size and sample volume of the abundances of three predominant copepod species, Metridia gerlachei, Calanus propinquus and Calanoides acutus, were studied in Bransfield Strait (Antarctic Peninsula) in the austral summer of 1988–1989 and waters north of the Weddell Sea in 1989–1990. Copepod abundances were higher in the area north of the Weddell Sea, with the exception of Metridia gerlachei, which was evenly distributed over both areas. Local (intra-station) patchiness was not found, indicating random distribution over small areas. In the assessment of inter-station variability in Bransfield Strait, with standard error of the mean set arbitrarily at 20% of the average abundance and a sampling volume of 150 m³, the theoretical minimum sample size (number of sampling stations) ranged from 6 to 17 for juvenile copepods and from 11 to 25 for adults. The minimum number of stations in the area north of the Weddell Sea reached from 5 to 7, and from 7 to 10 respectively.     

Phytoplankton and particulate matter at the Weddell / Scotia Confluence (47°W) in summer 1989, as a final step of a temporal succession (EPOS project)

During January 1989, phytoplankton biomass and species composition were studied in a north / south transect at the Weddell / Scotia Confluence (47°W), between 57° and 61°30′S. Results showed a diatom bloom in the Scotia Sea (chlorophyll a 1.9 μg l⁻¹, particulate organic carbon 239 μg l⁻¹), dominated by Fragilariopsis cylindrus, Dactyliosolen antarcticus and Chaetoceros dichaeta. Low chlorophyll a / phaeopigments ratios (about 1.4) and silicate concentrations (15 μmol l⁻¹) suggested that this was an advanced bloom phase, probably linked to high grazing pressure. Minimum chlorophyll a values of 0.1–0.2 μg l⁻¹ and particulate organic carbon 46 μg l⁻¹ were found at the Weddell / Scotia Front and in a subsurface layer of the Weddell Sea Water. In the southern part of the transect (61°30′S), in the Weddell Sea, a second surface maximum was found (chlorophyll a 0.9 μg l⁻¹, particulate organic carbon 120 μg l⁻¹), but with a different species composition, with Cryptomonas sp. dominant. Our results show a succession within the diatom community in the Weddell / Scotia Confluence Waters when comparing the three EPOS legs. In the Weddell Sea from spring to summer, nanoflagellates, with only a minor contribution from diatoms, persist over a long period with little change in the community structure. We suggest that the frontal system, together with the receding ice edge and the grazing pressure of either krill or protozooplankton, are mainly responsible for the phytoplankton distribution patterns found. Received: 3 July 1996 / Accepted: 3 November 1996