Spatial distribution of zooplankton (Antarctic krill, ice krill) in the wider Weddell Sea (Antarctica) with links to ArcGIS map packages

• Main Authors: Teschke, Katharina, Pehlke, Hendrik, Brey, Thomas
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: PANGAEA 2019
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Atkinson; Gizhiga; Lazarev; Lazarev Sea; Maud Rise; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Weddell; Weddell Sea; Antarc*; Antarctic Krill; Antarctica; Euphausia superba; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/56941/; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.899667; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.7ebb3eea-0312-4a22-b566-e0662e116dee

Here, we provided four ArcGIS map packages with georeferenced files on the spatial distribution of Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, (adults and larvae) and ice krill, Euphausia crystallorophias, in the wider Weddell Sea. The files were created in the context of the development of a marine protected area in the Weddell Sea. Antarctic krill (adults): The map of predicted habitat suitability for adult Antarctic krill was based on krill data from the database KRILLBASE (Atkinson et al., 2017; data request: 26-09-13). Those data were complemented by krill data, which were collected (a) during the Norwegian Antarctic research expedition 1976/77 (M/V "Polarsirkel"), (b) during two Soviet research cruises (RV "Gizhiga", 1977; RV "Volny Vetter", 1983), (c) in the context of the Lazarev Sea Krill Survey ("Polarstern" cruises ANT-XXI/4, ANT-XXIII/2, ANT-XXIII/6, ANT-XXIV/2) as well as (d) during "Polarstern" cruise ANT-XXIX/3. The habitat suitability model was developed by the use of the modelling package "biomod2". As predictor variables, we used (i) dissolved oxygen from the World Ocean Atlas 2013, (ii) ice coverage from AMSR-E sea ice maps, (iii) seawater temperature data from the Finite Element Sea Ice - Ocean Model (FESOM) provided by R. Timmermann (AWI), (iv) bathymetric data from the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) and (v) SeaWiFS chlorophyll-a concentration data. Most suitable habitat conditions for the Antarctic krill seem to occur near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, on the continental slope between 15°W and 15°E and on the Maud Rise plateau. Antarctic krill (larvae): The map of interpolated abundances of krill larvae is based on abundance data, which were collected (a) during the Norwegian Antarctic research expeditions 1976/77, 1977/78 and 1979/80 (M/V "Polarsirkel"), (b) in the context of the First International BIOMASS Experiment survey (FIBEX) (Walther Herwig cruise 1981) and the Lazarev Sea Krill Survey (LAKRIS) ("Polarstern" cruises ANT-XXI/4, ANT-XXIII/6) as well as ...