Recent Changes in Composition and Distribution Patterns of Summer Mesozooplankton off the Western Antarctic Peninsula
The Southern Ocean has undergone significant climate-related changes in recent decades. As a result, pelagic communities inhabiting these waters, particularly mesozooplankton, have adapted to new conditions. The present study considers the patterns of horizontal and vertical (up to 1000 m) distribut...
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2073-4441/15/10/1948/ 2023-08-20T04:00:52+02:00 Recent Changes in Composition and Distribution Patterns of Summer Mesozooplankton off the Western Antarctic Peninsula Valentina V. Kasyan agris 2023-05-21 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/w15101948 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Oceans and Coastal Zones https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w15101948 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Water; Volume 15; Issue 10; Pages: 1948 mesozooplankton copepods euphausiid larvae distribution abundance biomass Bransfield Strait Antarctic Sound Weddell Sea South Orkney Islands Southern Ocean Text 2023 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/w15101948 2023-08-01T10:09:25Z The Southern Ocean has undergone significant climate-related changes in recent decades. As a result, pelagic communities inhabiting these waters, particularly mesozooplankton, have adapted to new conditions. The present study considers the patterns of horizontal and vertical (up to 1000 m) distribution, the composition, abundance, and biomass of mesozooplankton, and the relationships of these parameters to the extreme environmental conditions off the western Antarctic Peninsula throughout the record-warm austral summer season of 2022. Sampling was conducted using the opening/closing Multinet system (0.25 m2 aperture) equipped with five 150-μm mesh nets and a WP-2 net. The mesozooplankton was represented by the three most abundant groups: eggs and larvae of euphausiids such as Euphausia superba, small copepods such as Oithona similis, and large calanoid copepods such as Calanoides acutus, Calanus propinquus, Metridia gerlachei, and Rhincalanus gigas. The composition and quantitative distribution of the mesozooplankton significantly varied: the copepods were abundant in the west, off the Antarctic Peninsula, while eggs and larvae of euphausiids were abundant in the east, off the South Orkney Islands. Most mesozooplankton occurred in the upper 200 m layer, and each taxon showed characteristic depth preference: small copepods, euphausiids larvae, and cirripeds cypris larvae were abundant in the epipelagic layer, while large calanoid copepods, euphausiids eggs, amphipods, pelagic polychaetes, and ostracods were found mostly in the mesopelagic layer. The composition and quantitative distribution of mesozooplankton had clear relationships with environmental factors, particularly with a combination of variables such as water salinity, temperature, and chlorophyll a concentration. Text Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Bransfield Strait Euphausia superba South Orkney Islands Southern Ocean Weddell Sea Copepods MDPI Open Access Publishing Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctic Sound ENVELOPE(-56.500,-56.500,-63.500,-63.500) Austral Bransfield Strait South Orkney Islands ENVELOPE(-45.500,-45.500,-60.583,-60.583) Southern Ocean The Antarctic Weddell Weddell Sea Water 15 10 1948 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
MDPI Open Access Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
mesozooplankton copepods euphausiid larvae distribution abundance biomass Bransfield Strait Antarctic Sound Weddell Sea South Orkney Islands Southern Ocean |
spellingShingle |
mesozooplankton copepods euphausiid larvae distribution abundance biomass Bransfield Strait Antarctic Sound Weddell Sea South Orkney Islands Southern Ocean Valentina V. Kasyan Recent Changes in Composition and Distribution Patterns of Summer Mesozooplankton off the Western Antarctic Peninsula |
topic_facet |
mesozooplankton copepods euphausiid larvae distribution abundance biomass Bransfield Strait Antarctic Sound Weddell Sea South Orkney Islands Southern Ocean |
description |
The Southern Ocean has undergone significant climate-related changes in recent decades. As a result, pelagic communities inhabiting these waters, particularly mesozooplankton, have adapted to new conditions. The present study considers the patterns of horizontal and vertical (up to 1000 m) distribution, the composition, abundance, and biomass of mesozooplankton, and the relationships of these parameters to the extreme environmental conditions off the western Antarctic Peninsula throughout the record-warm austral summer season of 2022. Sampling was conducted using the opening/closing Multinet system (0.25 m2 aperture) equipped with five 150-μm mesh nets and a WP-2 net. The mesozooplankton was represented by the three most abundant groups: eggs and larvae of euphausiids such as Euphausia superba, small copepods such as Oithona similis, and large calanoid copepods such as Calanoides acutus, Calanus propinquus, Metridia gerlachei, and Rhincalanus gigas. The composition and quantitative distribution of the mesozooplankton significantly varied: the copepods were abundant in the west, off the Antarctic Peninsula, while eggs and larvae of euphausiids were abundant in the east, off the South Orkney Islands. Most mesozooplankton occurred in the upper 200 m layer, and each taxon showed characteristic depth preference: small copepods, euphausiids larvae, and cirripeds cypris larvae were abundant in the epipelagic layer, while large calanoid copepods, euphausiids eggs, amphipods, pelagic polychaetes, and ostracods were found mostly in the mesopelagic layer. The composition and quantitative distribution of mesozooplankton had clear relationships with environmental factors, particularly with a combination of variables such as water salinity, temperature, and chlorophyll a concentration. |
format |
Text |
author |
Valentina V. Kasyan |
author_facet |
Valentina V. Kasyan |
author_sort |
Valentina V. Kasyan |
title |
Recent Changes in Composition and Distribution Patterns of Summer Mesozooplankton off the Western Antarctic Peninsula |
title_short |
Recent Changes in Composition and Distribution Patterns of Summer Mesozooplankton off the Western Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full |
Recent Changes in Composition and Distribution Patterns of Summer Mesozooplankton off the Western Antarctic Peninsula |
title_fullStr |
Recent Changes in Composition and Distribution Patterns of Summer Mesozooplankton off the Western Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full_unstemmed |
Recent Changes in Composition and Distribution Patterns of Summer Mesozooplankton off the Western Antarctic Peninsula |
title_sort |
recent changes in composition and distribution patterns of summer mesozooplankton off the western antarctic peninsula |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/w15101948 |
op_coverage |
agris |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-56.500,-56.500,-63.500,-63.500) ENVELOPE(-45.500,-45.500,-60.583,-60.583) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctic Sound Austral Bransfield Strait South Orkney Islands Southern Ocean The Antarctic Weddell Weddell Sea |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctic Sound Austral Bransfield Strait South Orkney Islands Southern Ocean The Antarctic Weddell Weddell Sea |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Bransfield Strait Euphausia superba South Orkney Islands Southern Ocean Weddell Sea Copepods |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Bransfield Strait Euphausia superba South Orkney Islands Southern Ocean Weddell Sea Copepods |
op_source |
Water; Volume 15; Issue 10; Pages: 1948 |
op_relation |
Oceans and Coastal Zones https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w15101948 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/w15101948 |
container_title |
Water |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
1948 |
_version_ |
1774720836700209152 |