Copepods in spring annual sea ice at Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica).

The aim of this study was to investigate patterns of abundance, distribution, temporal changes and species composition of the dominant ice-associated copepods in the spring annual pack ice, platelet ice and water column at Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea, during late spring 1997. Ice cores were drilled for...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Biology
Main Authors: GUGLIELMO, Letterio, ZAGAMI, Giacomo, GRANATA, Antonia, SAGGIOMO V, CATALANO G
Other Authors: Guglielmo, Letterio, Zagami, Giacomo, Saggiomo, V, Catalano, G, Granata, Antonia
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2007
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11570/1891150
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-006-0234-2
Description
Summary:The aim of this study was to investigate patterns of abundance, distribution, temporal changes and species composition of the dominant ice-associated copepods in the spring annual pack ice, platelet ice and water column at Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea, during late spring 1997. Ice cores were drilled for temporal and spatial scales. Stephos longipes and Harpacticus furcifer dominated the sea ice meiofauna in terms of numbers in the lower few centimeters of the bottom ice associated with high chlorophyll a and phaeopigment levels. Nauplii dominated the S. longipes population (91.6%) and occurred in extremely high concentrations. In contrast, copepodids were the dominant stages in H. furcifer. How H. furcifer carries out its entire life cycle and how it diVers from ecologically similar species such as Drescheriella glacialis should be examined in more detail.