Effects of Environmental Changes on Stock of Krill and Salp in the Atlantic and Indian Sectors of the Antarctic

Long-tenn variation in krill (Euphausia superba) and salp (mainly Salpa thompsoni) stocks was compared to environmental changes in the Atlantic and Indian sectors of the Antarctic. Environmental conditions examined were air temperature, water temperature, salinity, and sea-ice extent from 1926 to 1938 and from 1982 to 2000. The long-term pattern of krill was opposite to that of salp: krill stock decreased while salp stock increased concurrently. Krill stock was about three-fold higher from 1926 to 1938 than from 1982 to 2000, but salp was about four -fold lower in 1926-1938 than in 1982-2000. A wanning trend was observed in the environmental data, and the long-term variation in krill and salp stocks was affected by this trend.