Effects of Pack Ice on the Composition of Micronektonic Communities in the Weddell Sea

• Main Authors: Ainley, D. G., Fraser, W. R., Daly, K. L.
• Other Authors: Sahrhage, D.
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 1988
• Subjects: Antarctic; The Antarctic; Weddell; Weddell Sea; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/34705/; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/34705/7/1546.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73724-4_11

Using seabirds as sampling devices on two cruises in the northwestern Weddell Sea, we investigated the species and lengthfrequency distribution of micronekton in surface waters. Our micronekton samples are among the first ever collected simultaneously in both ice-covered and adjacent ice-free waters in the Antarctic using the same technique. Changes in the abundance or presence of certain crustacean, squid, and fish species were related to the presence of ice, and to distance from the ice edge. Length-frequency distributions representing age- or sex-classes of fish and krill were also affected by proximity to the ice edge. Our data indicate that the proximity of sampling to pack ice may affect our perception of the composition of micronektonic communities, and that the marginal ice zone is an important area for juvenile age-classes of pelagic fish and krill.