Search

The abundant pelagic tunicate Salpa thompsoni is a major grazer in the Southern Ocean (SO) with high ingestion rates, fast-sinking faecal pellets, and the potential to rapidly grow and form dense blooms. We investigated the length-frequency distribution, maturity stage composition, growth, development speed, and size-specific diel vertical abundance patterns at one of the northernmost habitats of S. thompsoni (Chatham Rise, east of New Zealand, ~ 44°S 178°E). By observing the in situ growth of distinct size cohorts and ex situ on-board experiments, relative growth was estimated for 6–10 mm blastozooids to be between 8.8–11.7% d−1 at ambient temperatures of 10 °C, with good agreement between our cohort-based field estimates and ex situ growth chambers. Transition times between development stages were estimated to be 3.8 ± 1.5 days, allowing for the succession from newly released aggregate chain to functional male blastozooid within 23 days. Integrative Bongo tows in the upper 200 m showed that S. thompsoni not only have daytime-dependent vertical abundance patterns, but also that these are size-specific, with medium-sized blastozooids and large oozooids contributing most to the elevated values during the night. The present study highlights the need for more in-depth biological studies of S. thompsoni at lower latitudes, which will help in understanding their increasingly structuring role in a gradually warming SO.

The establishment of non-indigenous species (NIS) in natural ecosystems is a growing concern for preserving biodiversity at global, national, and regional scales. Due to commercial shipping activities, international ports serve as critical entry points for NIS and a source for secondary dispersal. Sixteen international ports in Canada representing both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts were surveyed to characterize intertidal NIS distributions. Intertidal species diversity of both NIS and native species were significantly different between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, with higher NIS and native species diversity on the Pacific coast. However, our newly developed Invasive Species Index (a measure of the degree of invasion based on NIS and native species relative abundance) suggested that the Atlantic coast was comparatively more impacted by invasion. No direct link was found between commercial shipping activities (number of ship visits or total tonnage) and the distribution patterns of intertidal NIS in these ports. Instead, NIS distributions in port ecosystems were strongly related to latitude, salinity, sediment type, and human population size. In addition to commercial shipping, future research in conservation and management of invaded communities should consider environmental conditions and the risk posed by local anthropogenic activities (i.e. cumulative vector effects) when characterizing invasion dynamics.

Two species of salps, Salpa thompsoni and Ihlea racovitzai, were sampled during three cruises to the Lazarev Sea, Southern Ocean, in summer (December–January) 2005/2006, Autumn (April–May) 2004 and Winter (July–August) 2006. Dry weight, carbon, nitrogen, protein, lipid and carbohydrate contents were measured to characterize the potential value of salps as a food source for predators in the Antarctic ecosystem. Biochemical composition measurements showed that despite having a high percentage of water (~94% of wet weight), both species had relatively high carbon and protein contents in their remaining dry weight (DW). In particular I. racovitzai showed high carbon (up to 22% of DW) and protein (up to 32% of DW) values during all seasons sampled, compared to lower values for S. thompsoni (carbon content only about 15% of the DW, protein content about 10% of the DW). At the same time, carbohydrates (CH) and lipids (Lip) only accounted for a small portion of salp DW in both species (1.4% CH and 3.6% Lip for I. racovitzai; 2.1% CH and 2.9% Lip for S. thompsoni). There was little variability in the biochemical composition of either salp species between the seasons sampled. Both biochemical composition and life cycle characteristics suggest that Antarctic salps, especially I. racovitzai, may be important prey items for both cold and warm-blooded predators in an environment where food is often very scarce.

Feeding dynamics of the Antarctic salps Ihlea racovitzai and Salpa thompsoni were studied in the Lazarev Sea in fall 2004, summer 2005–2006 and winter 2006. Pigment concentrations in the guts of both species were positively correlated with ambient surface chlorophyll a (chl a). No evidence was found for salp clogging even at dense surface concentrations of up to 7 μg chl a L−1. However, gut pigment concentrations had a lower range than ambient pigment concentrations, suggesting that salps increased retention times of ingested material in low-food environments. For medium-sized I. racovitzai and S. thompsoni, estimated individual daily rations reached 7–10 and >100% of body carbon in winter and summer, respectively. Daily respiratory needs of I. racovitzai and S. thompsoni accounted for 28 and 22% of daily carbon assimilation based on pigment ingestion rates in winter, and for 2 and 1% in summer, respectively. The grazing impact of the salp populations on the phytoplankton standing stock was negligible during all seasons due to generally low salp densities. Fatty acid trophic biomarkers in the salps suggest high year-round contributions of flagellates and modest contributions of diatoms to the salp’s diet. These markers showed low seasonal variability for I. racovitzai. The more pronounced seasonality of trophic markers in S. thompsoni were likely related to their generally deeper residence depth in winter linked to a seasonal alternation of sexual and asexual generations.

Spatial and temporal dynamics of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope signatures of the bottom-dwelling caridean shrimp Nauticaris marionis were measured during April and May between 1984 and 2000 in the vicinity of Marion Island (the Prince Edward Islands, Southern Ocean). There was one trophic-level enrichment in bulk δ15N and δ13C signatures between small ( 20 mm) specimens of N. marionis, suggesting distinct trophic differentiation among major shrimp size groups. Both δ15N and δ13C values of N. marionis increased with the depth, reflecting changes in their diet. There were no clear temporal trends in bulk δ15N signatures of N. marionis. However, compound-specific δ15N measurements of amino acids indicated that N. marionis from the inter-island realm occupied the trophic level of second order carnivores, while similarly sized shrimps in the near-shore realm were at the trophic level of first order carnivores. Compound-specific measurements also identified a change in the source of inorganic nitrogen at the base of the food web between the inter-island and near-shore realms. In contrast to the bulk δ15N values, a significant shift in bulk δ13C values of N. marionis was observed between 1984 and more recent years. This temporal change appears to be linked to changes in the overall productivity of the Prince Edward Island inter-island system, which could be linked to global climate change.

Mesozooplankton community structure in the vicinity of the Prince Edward Islands (PEIs) was investigated during six surveys conducted in late austral summer (April/May) from 1996 to 1999. Zooplankton samples were collected by oblique tows using a Bongo net fitted with 300-μm mesh. Surface temperature, average temperature and chlorophyll a were measured in conjunction with each net tow. The positions of the Sub-Antarctic Front (SAF) and the Antarctic Polar Front (APF), in relation to the islands, were determined by CTD and/or XBT transects to the west of the islands (upstream). Both fronts were characterized by a high degree of latitudinal variation. Changes in position of the fronts occurred rapidly, the SAF moving up to ∼120 km in a 2-week period. Consequently, the oceanographic environment in the vicinity of the PEIs was subject to a high degree of intra- and inter-survey variation. The positions of the SAF and APF appeared to have a significant impact on phytoplankton biomass in the vicinity of the PEIs, possibly through the alteration of local oceanographic flow dynamics. Water retention over the island shelf in 1996, associated with location of the SAF far to the north of the PEIs, corresponded to enhanced chlorophyll-a concentrations (∼1.54 mg m−3). Conversely, when the fronts were close to the islands, as in 1997 and 1999, higher current velocity limited water retention and chlorophyll-a concentrations in the inter-island region were relatively low (∼0.4 mg m−3). Cluster analyses showed that, in many instances, there was greater similarity among zooplankton communities from different surveys than among communities within surveys, indicating that short-term variability exceeded inter-annual variability. The population structure of the copepod Calanus simillimus indicated that there was inter-annual variation in the timing of the biological season. Differences in the population structure of species, and consequently their contribution to abundance and biomass, may therefore have been an important contributor to inter-annual variation in community structure. Evidence is provided of a long-term southward shift in the position of the SAF. It is postulated that this may affect the PEIs by increasing the proportion of allochthonous energy input, because the PEIs now lie in the path of the front, altering the tropho-dynamics of the island ecosystem. Lower mesozooplankton biomass associated with warmer sub-Antarctic water may have important negative consequences for higher trophic levels that depend on mesozooplankton for food.

A novel approach was used to estimate the heterotrophic carbon component in the diet of the Antarctic krill Euphausia superba. Over 200 specimens from seven samples collected in the Lazarev Sea (January 1993 and 1995), at the Antarctic Polar Front (January 1993), and around South Georgia (February/March 1994) were dissected, and the total carbon content of their stomachs was estimated with a CHN-analyser. Gut-pigment contents were also measured by the gut-fluorescence technique in specimens collected at the same time, and the equivalent amount of their gut carbon was then subtracted from the total organic carbon content of guts from the same samples. The remaining carbon was assumed to originate entirely from heterotrophic food sources. This heterotrophic component accounted for a substantial proportion of the total food consumed by Antarctic krill, ranging from 17.4 to 98.9% of the mass of the gut contents (mean = 78.8% ± 21.2 SD). The results make an important contribution to the elucidation of the energy budget of krill and its daily carbon ration. With a few exceptions, previous estimates were largely calculated from a solely autotrophic carbon source, and were unable to account for the metabolic requirements of E. superba. Krill plays an important role in Antarctic food webs, as it often constitutes ≃50% of the total biomass of the zooplankton, and produces fast-sinking, dense faecal pellets which are important in the vertical transport of organic carbon from the euphotic layer to the deep ocean. High consumption rates of smaller heterotrophic organisms by krill suggest that this large microphage may be more important than previously believed in re-packaging micro- and mesozooplankton into a longer-lasting and more easily sequestered carbon pool.

The predation impact of the two chaetognaths Eukrohnia hamata and Sagitta gazellae on mesozooplankton standing stock were investigated in three depth layers during two 24 h stations occupied in the vicinity of Marion Island in late austral summer (April/May) 1986. The zooplankton community at both stations was dominated by small copepods (Oithona spp., Microcalanus spp.), which accounted for >95% of total zooplankton abundance. Chaetognaths comprised 95% of the total chaetognath stock. The general trend in both species was decreasing abundance with increasing depth, which appeared to be correlated to the distribution of copepods (r2 = 0.45; P

During a repeat grid survey and drogue study carried out in the Lazarev Sea in the austral summer of 1994 to 1995, a sudden collapse of a rich population of the tunicate Salpa thompsoni was observed at the onset of a phytoplankton bloom. This may have been related to the inability of salps to regulate their filtration rate and avoid clogging of their filtering apparatus at particle concentrations ≥1 mg (chlorophyll a) m−3. It was at this stage that large numbers of salp individuals had their branchial cavities invaded by the copepod Rhincalanus gigas. Incubations, to compare the feeding rates of R.␣gigas in the presence and absence of salps, showed that copepods are able to utilize the high concentrations of microplankton accumulated in the food strand of the salp, thus enhancing their grazing efficiency. This is likely to represent a typical form of opportunistic parasitism. However, the timing of the invasion, and the observation that most salps could survive prolonged exposure to R. gigas invasion, suggest that the association may also constitute a novel type of symbiosis. S.␣thompsoni could potentially benefit from R. gigas cleaning its filtering apparatus when clogging due to high particle concentrations occurs.

Krill grazing data collected during cruises in the region of the Antarctic Polar Front (S.A. “Agulhas” Voyage 70) and the South Georgia shelf (R.V. “Africana” Voyage 119) during the austral summer of 1993 were analyzed to estimate the variability of crucial parameters of the gut fluorescence technique in relation to food availability and krill feeding history. Gut evacuation rates (k) and passage or throughput times (1/k) varied in the ranges of 0.101 to 0.424 h-1 and 2.3 to 9.9 h and were strongly correlated (p 0.05) with ambient food concentration. However, the pigment lost per individual krill was strongly correlated with the total amount of pigment ingested (p