Anomalously low zooplankton abundance in the Ross Sea: An alternative explanation
The southwestern Ross Sea (Antarctica) supports a large bloom of Phaeocystis antarctica in the Ross Sea polynya, which is impacted minimally by zooplankton and a smaller diatom bloom in the adjacent Terra Nova Bay polynya, which are more readily grazed. This difference in grazing pressure between th...
Published in: | Limnology and Oceanography |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2003
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.4319/lo.2003.48.2.0686 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.4319%2Flo.2003.48.2.0686 https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.4319/lo.2003.48.2.0686 |
id |
crwiley:10.4319/lo.2003.48.2.0686 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crwiley:10.4319/lo.2003.48.2.0686 2024-09-09T19:04:39+00:00 Anomalously low zooplankton abundance in the Ross Sea: An alternative explanation Tagliabue, Alessandro Arrigo, Kevin R. 2003 http://dx.doi.org/10.4319/lo.2003.48.2.0686 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.4319%2Flo.2003.48.2.0686 https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.4319/lo.2003.48.2.0686 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Limnology and Oceanography volume 48, issue 2, page 686-699 ISSN 0024-3590 1939-5590 journal-article 2003 crwiley https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2003.48.2.0686 2024-08-01T04:23:26Z The southwestern Ross Sea (Antarctica) supports a large bloom of Phaeocystis antarctica in the Ross Sea polynya, which is impacted minimally by zooplankton and a smaller diatom bloom in the adjacent Terra Nova Bay polynya, which are more readily grazed. This difference in grazing pressure between the two regions frequently has been explained by a reduced susceptibility of P. antarctica to grazing, despite conflicting evidence showing that Phaeocystis spp. are readily grazed by zooplankton. Using a three‐dimensional ecosystem model of the Ross Sea, our goal was to determine whether phytoplankton growth dynamics, rather than mechanical and/or chemical defenses, might explain (1) the relatively low zooplankton abundance observed in waters dominated by P. antarctica , and (2) the low overall zooplankton biomass in the Ross Sea. Although in the model, diatoms and P. antarctica were grazed with equal ease (i.e., no prey selectivity), the slower growth of phytoplankton in Terra Nova Bay resulted in a higher degree of phytoplankton‐zooplankton coupling and greater zooplankton abundance. Conversely, the exaggerated boom/bust cycle of the P. antarctica bloom in the Ross Sea polynya resulted in greater decoupling from higher trophic levels and reduced zooplankton biomass. This indicates that the low zooplankton abundance observed in the Ross Sea polynya may be a consequence of their inability to match the high growth rates of P. antarctica . The different degrees of zooplankton‐phytoplankton coupling between Terra Nova Bay and the Ross Sea polynya may have important implications for food web structure and carbon export, especially under changing stratification. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Ross Sea Wiley Online Library Ross Sea Terra Nova Bay Limnology and Oceanography 48 2 686 699 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
The southwestern Ross Sea (Antarctica) supports a large bloom of Phaeocystis antarctica in the Ross Sea polynya, which is impacted minimally by zooplankton and a smaller diatom bloom in the adjacent Terra Nova Bay polynya, which are more readily grazed. This difference in grazing pressure between the two regions frequently has been explained by a reduced susceptibility of P. antarctica to grazing, despite conflicting evidence showing that Phaeocystis spp. are readily grazed by zooplankton. Using a three‐dimensional ecosystem model of the Ross Sea, our goal was to determine whether phytoplankton growth dynamics, rather than mechanical and/or chemical defenses, might explain (1) the relatively low zooplankton abundance observed in waters dominated by P. antarctica , and (2) the low overall zooplankton biomass in the Ross Sea. Although in the model, diatoms and P. antarctica were grazed with equal ease (i.e., no prey selectivity), the slower growth of phytoplankton in Terra Nova Bay resulted in a higher degree of phytoplankton‐zooplankton coupling and greater zooplankton abundance. Conversely, the exaggerated boom/bust cycle of the P. antarctica bloom in the Ross Sea polynya resulted in greater decoupling from higher trophic levels and reduced zooplankton biomass. This indicates that the low zooplankton abundance observed in the Ross Sea polynya may be a consequence of their inability to match the high growth rates of P. antarctica . The different degrees of zooplankton‐phytoplankton coupling between Terra Nova Bay and the Ross Sea polynya may have important implications for food web structure and carbon export, especially under changing stratification. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Tagliabue, Alessandro Arrigo, Kevin R. |
spellingShingle |
Tagliabue, Alessandro Arrigo, Kevin R. Anomalously low zooplankton abundance in the Ross Sea: An alternative explanation |
author_facet |
Tagliabue, Alessandro Arrigo, Kevin R. |
author_sort |
Tagliabue, Alessandro |
title |
Anomalously low zooplankton abundance in the Ross Sea: An alternative explanation |
title_short |
Anomalously low zooplankton abundance in the Ross Sea: An alternative explanation |
title_full |
Anomalously low zooplankton abundance in the Ross Sea: An alternative explanation |
title_fullStr |
Anomalously low zooplankton abundance in the Ross Sea: An alternative explanation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Anomalously low zooplankton abundance in the Ross Sea: An alternative explanation |
title_sort |
anomalously low zooplankton abundance in the ross sea: an alternative explanation |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2003 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.4319/lo.2003.48.2.0686 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.4319%2Flo.2003.48.2.0686 https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.4319/lo.2003.48.2.0686 |
geographic |
Ross Sea Terra Nova Bay |
geographic_facet |
Ross Sea Terra Nova Bay |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Ross Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Ross Sea |
op_source |
Limnology and Oceanography volume 48, issue 2, page 686-699 ISSN 0024-3590 1939-5590 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2003.48.2.0686 |
container_title |
Limnology and Oceanography |
container_volume |
48 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
686 |
op_container_end_page |
699 |
_version_ |
1809818692454711296 |