Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cnidaria from the Croker passage (Antarctic Peninsula) with a special focus on Siphonophorae

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Polar Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Studies of “gelatinous” zooplankton are rather rare, and little is known about the biology and ecology of Antarctic Cnidaria, especially for siphonophores. More investigations are necessary for complementing the current information on the “gelatinous” zooplankton inhabiting this important but little know biogeographical region, especially because siphonophores very likely play a significant role in the Antarctic food chains. The species composition, abundance and vertical distribution of planktonic cnidarians in the Croker Passage were evaluated using the data obtained from three expeditions. Zooplankton were sampled with a double plankton net between 0 and 1,200 m water depth in both summer and winter seasons. In total, ten species of siphonophores and four species of medusae were identified. Siphonophore assemblages were dominated by Dimophyes arctica, Pyrostephos vanhoeffeni, and Diphyes dispar. D. arctica and D. dispar occurred in greatest numbers in summer, mainly in the upper mesopelagic zone. P. vanhoeffeni, a cryophilic species, occurred most abundantly in winter (in the lower mesopelagic zone), when they probably reproduce. Restricted circulation from the Bellingshausen Sea over the continental shelf into Croker Passage may exclude the deeper-living oceanic fauna from the area of investigation, as indicated by the low abundances of Crystallophyes amygdalina, Muggiaea sp., and Heteropyramis spp. Four species of medusae were identified. The highest abundance was noted for Solmundella bitentaculata and Arctapodema sp. These occurred most abundantly in the middle (January) and end (April) of summer.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alvarino A (1981) Siphonophora. In: Boltovskoy D (ed) Atlas de Zooplancton del Atlantico Sudoccidental. Instituto Nacional de Investigaci6n y Desarrollo Pesquero, Mar del Plata, pp 383–441

    Google Scholar 

  • Alvarino A, Wojtan JM, Martinez MR (1990) Antarctic Siphonophores from plankton samples of the United States Antarctic research program. In: Kronicker LS (ed) Biology of the Antarctic Seas. Ant Res Ser 49:1–439

  • Andrews KJH (1966) The distribution and life history of Calanoides acutus (Giesbrecht). Discovery Rep 34:117–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Arai MN (2001) Pelagic coelenterates and eutrophication: a review. Hydrobiologia 451:69–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson A, Siegel V, Pakhomov E, Rothery P (2004) Long-term decline in krill stock and increase in salps within the Southern Ocean. Nature 432:100–103

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Attrill MJ, Wright J, Edwards M (2007) Climate-related increases in jellyfish frequency suggest a more gelatinous future for the North Sea. Limnol Oceanog 52:480–485

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker AC (1954) The circurnpolar continuity of Antarctic plankton species. Discovery Rep 27:201–219

    Google Scholar 

  • Bidigare RR, Biggs DC (1980) The role of sulfate exclusion in buoyancy maintenance by siphonophores and other oceanic gelatinous zooplankton. Comp Biochem Physiol 66A:467–471

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Biggs DC (1977) Respiration and ammonium excretion by open ocean gelatinous zooplankton. Limnol Oceanog 22(1):109–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouillon J, Medel MD, Pagès F et al (2004) Fauna of the mediterranean hydrozoa. Sci Mar 68(2):1–449

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boysen-Ennen E, Piatkowski U (1988) Meso–and macrozooplankton communities in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Polar Biol 9:17–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brodeur RD, Mill CE, Overland JE, Walters GE, Schumacher JD (1999) Substantial increase in gelatinous zooplankton in the Bering Sea, with possible links to climate change. Fish Oceanogr 8:296–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brodeur RD, Suchman CL, Reese DC, Miller TW, Daly EA (2008) Spatial overlap and trophic interactions between pelagic fish and large jellyfish in the northern California Current. Mar Biol 154:649–659

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruland KW, Silver MW (1981) Sinking rates of fecal pellets from gelatinous zooplankton (Salps, Pteropods, Doliolids). Mar Biol 63:295–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chun C (1897) Die Siphonophoren der Plankton Expedition. Ergeb Plank Exp Vol. II. K. b.

  • Colin SP, Costello JH, Graham WM, Higgins J III (2005) Omnivory by the small cosmopolitan hydromedusa Aglaura hemistoma. Limnol Oceanog 50:1264–1268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • David PM (1958) The distribution of the Chaetognatha of the southern ocean. Discovery Rep 29:200–229

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon AL, Nowalin WD (1978) The basin waters of the Bransfield Strait. J Phys Oceanogr 8:258–264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham WM, Bayha KM (2007) Biological invasions by marine jellyfish. In: Nentwig W (ed) Ecological Studies. Springer, Berlin, pp 240–255

    Google Scholar 

  • Grelowski A, Tokarczyk R (1985) Hydrological conditions in the region of Bransfield Strait and the southern part of Drake Passage in the period from December 10, 1983 and January 8, 1984 (BIOMASS–SIBEX). Pol Polar Res 6:31–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Haddock SHD, Dunn CW, Pugh PR (2005) A re-examination of siphonophore terminology and morphology, applied to the description of two new prayine species with remarkable bio-optical properties. J Mar Biol Ass UK 85:695–707

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haeckel E (1881) Entwurf eines Radiolarien-Systems auf Grund von Studien Challenger-Radiolarien (Prodromus systematis radiolarium). Jena Z Med Naturwiss 15(N.S. 8):418

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamner WM, Madin LP, Alldredge AL, Gilmer RW, Hamner PP (1975) Underwater observations of gelatinous zooplankton: sampling problems, feeding biology, and behavior. Limnol Oceanog 20:907–917

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardy AC, Gunther ER (1935) The plankton of the South Georgia whaling grounds and adjacent waters, 1926–1927. Discovery Rep 11:l–456

    Google Scholar 

  • Hopkins TL (1985) The zooplankton community of Croker passage, Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biol 4:161–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hopkins TL, Torres JJ (1988) The zooplankton community in the vicinity of the ice edge, western Weddell Sea, March 1986. Polar Biol 9:79–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hosia A, Stemmann L, Youngbluth M (2008) Distribution of net-collected planktonic cnidarians along the northern Mid-Atlantic ridge and their associations with the main water masses. Deep-Sea Res II 55:106–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huntley ME, Hobson LA (1978) Medusa predation and plankton dynamics in a temperate fjord, British Columbia. J Fish Res Board Can 35:257–261

    Google Scholar 

  • Kane JE (1966) The dlstribution of Parathemisto gaudichaudii (Guer.), with observations on its life-history in the 0° to 20°E sector of the Southern Ocean. Discovery Rep 34:163–198

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirkpatrick PA, Pugh PR (1984) Siphonophores and velellids. Synopses of the British fauna 29. p 154

  • Kramp PL (1948) Medusae collected by the Swedish antarctic expedition 1901–03. Further zoological results of the Swedish antarctic expedition 1901–1903 4:1–16

  • Lancraft TM, Hopkins TL, Torres JJ, Donnelly J (1991) Oceanic micronektonic/macrozooplanktonic community structure and feeding in ice covered Antarctic waters during the winter (AMERIEZ 1988). Polar Biol 11:157–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lancraft TM, Reisenbichler KR, Robison BH et al (2004) A krill—dominated micro nekton and macro zooplankton community in Croker passage, Antarctica with an estimate of fish predation. Deep–Sea Res II 51:2247–2260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larson RJ, Harbison GR (1990) Medusae from McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea including the descriptions of two new species, Leuckartiara brownei and Benthocodon hyalinus. Polar Biol 11:19–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larson RJ, Mills CE, Harbison GR (1989) In situ foraging and feeding behaviour of narcomedusae (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa). J Mar Biol Ass UK 69:785–794

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leloup E, Hentschel E (1938) Die Verbreitung der Calycophoren Siphonophoren in Südatlantische Ozean. Wiss Ergb Deuts Atlant Exp Meteor 12(2):1–31

    Google Scholar 

  • Link JS, Ford MD (2006) Widespread and persistent of Ctenophora in the northeast US shelf ecosystem. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 320:153–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynam CP, Hay SJ, Brierley AS (2004) Interannual variability in abundance of North Sea jellyfish and links to the North Atlantic oscillation. Limnol Oceanog 49:637–643

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynam CP, Hay SJ, Brierley AS (2005) Jellyfish abundance and climatic variation: contrasting responses in oceanographically distinct regions of the North Sea, and possible implications for fisheries. J Mar Biol Ass UK 85:435–450

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynam CP, Gibbons MJ, Axelsen BA, Sparks CAJ, Coetzee J, Heywood BG, Brierley AS (2006) Jellyfish overtake fish in a heavily fished ecosystem. Curr Biol 16:492–493

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mackintosh NA (1934) Distribution of the macro plankton in the Atlantic sector of the Antarctic. Discovery Rep 9:65–160

    Google Scholar 

  • Mackintosh NA (1937) The seasonal circulation of the Antarctic macro plankton. Discovery Rep 16:365–412

    Google Scholar 

  • Mianzan H, Pajaro M, Alvarez Colombo G, Madirolas A (2001) Feeding on survival-food: gelatinous plankton as a source of food for anchovies. Hydrobiologia 451:45–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mills CE (1995) Medusae, siphonophores, and ctenophores as planktivorous predators in changing global ecosystems. J Mar Syst 52:575–581

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills CE (2001) Jellyfish blooms: are populations increasing globally in response to changing ocean conditions? Hydrobiologia 451:55–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moser F (1925) Die Siphonophoren der Deutschen Südpolar Expedition. Deutsche Sudpolar—Exped 17. Zool 9:1–541

    Google Scholar 

  • Ommaney FD (1936) Rhincalanus gigas (Brady) a copepod of the southern macroplankton. Discovery Rep 13:227–334

    Google Scholar 

  • Pagès F, Gili JM (1989) Siphonophores (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) collected during the “Magga Dan” expedition (1966–1967) from Africa to Antarctica. Sci Mar 53(1):53–57

    Google Scholar 

  • Pagès F, Gili JM (1992) Siphonophores (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) of the Benguela current (southeastern Atlantic). Sci Mar 56(1):65–112

    Google Scholar 

  • Pagès F, Kurbjeweit F (1994) Vertical distribution and abundance of mesoplanktonic medusae and siphonophores from the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Polar Biol 14:243–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pagès F, Schnack-Schiel S (1996) Distribution patterns of the mesozooplankton, principally siphonophores and medusae, in the vicinity of the Antarctic slope front (eastern Weddell Sea). J Mar Syst 9:231–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pagès F, Gili JM, Bouillon J (1992) Medusae (Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, Cubozoa) of the Benguela current (southeastern Atlantic). Sci Mar 56(1):1–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Pagès F, Pugh PR, Gili JM (1994) Macro—and megaplanktonic cnidarians collected in the eastern part of the Weddell gyre during summer 1979. J Mar Biol Ass UK 74:873–894

    Google Scholar 

  • Pagès F, White MG, Rodhouse PG (1996) Abundance of gelatinous carnivores in the nekton community of the Antarctic polar frontal zone in summer 1994. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 141:139–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons TR, Lalli CM (2002) Jellyfish populations explosions: revisiting a hypothesis of possible causes. La Mer 40:111–121

    Google Scholar 

  • Pauly D, Graham W, Libralato S, Morissette L, Palomares MLD (2009) Jellyfish in ecosystems, online databases, and ecosystem models. Hydrobiologia 616:67–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piatkowski U (1989) Macroplankton communities in Antarctic surface waters: spatial changes related to hydrography. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 55:251–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pugh PR (1974) The vertical distribution of the siphonophores collected during the Sond Criuse. J Mar Biol Ass UK 54:25–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pugh PR (1989) Gelatinous zooplankton—the forgotten fauna. Prog Underw Sci 14:67–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Pugh PR (1999) Siphonophorae. In: Boltovskoy D (ed) South Atlantic zooplankton. Blackhuys Publishers, Leiden, pp 467–511

    Google Scholar 

  • Pugh PR, Pagès F, Boorman B (1997) Vertical distribution and abundance of pelagic cnidarians in the Eastern Weddell Sea, Antarctica. J Mar Biol Ass UK 77:341–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell JE (1981) Dietary composition and diel feeding patterns of epipelagic siphonophores. Mar Biol 65:83–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell JE (2005) Climate effects on formation of jellyfish and ctenophore blooms. J Mar Biol Ass UK 85:461–476

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell JE (2009) Extension of methods for jellyfish and ctenophore trophic ecology to large-scale research. Hydrobiologia 616:23–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell JE, Arai MN (2001) Interactions of pelagic cnidarians and ctenophores with fishes: a review. Hydrobiologia 451:27–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell JE, Decker MB (2005) Effects of climate on relative predation by schyphomedusae and ctenophores on copepods in Chesapeake bay during 1987–2000. Limnol Oceanog 50:376–387

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell JE, Malej A, Benovic A (1999) Potential links of jellyfish to eutrophication and fisheries. In: Malone TC, Malej A, Harding LW Jr, Smodlaka N, Turner RE (eds) Ecosystems at the land-sea margin: drainage basin to coastal sea. Coastal and Estuarine Studies 55:241–263

  • Purcell JE, Uye S, Lo WT (2007) Anthropogenic causes of jellyfish blooms and their direct consequences for humans: a review. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 350:153–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quoy JRC, Gaimard P (1833) Voyage de de’couvertes de l’Astrolabe. In: Zoologie 4. J Tastu, Paris

  • Rakusa-Suszczewski S (1999) Ekosystemy morskiej Antarktyki. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa

    Google Scholar 

  • Shiganova TA (1998) Invasion of the Black sea by the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi and recent changes in pelagic community structure. Fish Oceanog 7:305–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silguero JMB, Robinson BH (2000) Seasonal abundance and vertical distribution of mesopelagic calycophoran siphonophores in Monterey Bay, CA. J Plankton Res 22:1139–1153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stephanyants SD (1967) Siphonophores of the seas of the USSR and the north western part of the Pacific Ocean. Opredeliteli po faune SSSR 96:1–216

    Google Scholar 

  • Timonin AG (1968) Distribution of chaetognaths in the Southern Ocean. Oceanology 8:702–709

    Google Scholar 

  • Totton AK (1954) Siphonophora of the Indian Ocean together with systematic and biological notes on related specimens from other oceans. Discovery Rep 27:1–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Totton AK (1965) A synopsis of Siphonophora. Trustees of the British museum (natural history), London

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanhöffen (1902) Die craspedoten Medusen der deutschen Tiefsee-Expedition. I. Trachymedusen, Ibid., Jena

  • Voronina NM (1970) Seasonal cycles of some common Antarctic copepod species. In: Holdgate MW (ed) Antarctic Ecology 1:162–172

  • Voronina NM (1972) Vertical structure of pelagic community in the Antarctic. Oceanology 12:415–420

    Google Scholar 

  • Voronina NM (1977) Communities of temperate and cold waters of the Southern hemisphere. In oceanology, biology of the ocean. Nauka, Moscow, pp 68–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Voronina NM, Vladimirskaja EV, Żmijewska MI (1978) O sezonnych izmenenijak vozrostnogo sostava i vertikalnogo raspredelenija massovyh vidov zooplanktona. Jużnojo okeana—okenologija 18:512–518

    Google Scholar 

  • Witek Z, Kittel W, Czykieta H et al (1985) Macrozooplankton in the southern Drake passage and in the bransfield strait during BIOMASS-SIBEX (December 1983–January 1984). Pol Polar Res 6:95–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Xian W, Kang B, Liu R (2005) Jellyfish blooms in the Yangtze Estuary. Science 307:41

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Żmijewska MI, Bielecka L (2000) Seasonal and diel changes in the vertical distribution in relation to the age structure of Microcalanus pygmaeus Sars and Ctenocalanus citer Bowman & Heron (Pseudocalanidae, Copepoda) from Croker Passage (Antarctic Peninsula). Oceanologia 42(1):89–103

    Google Scholar 

  • Żmijewska MI, Yen J (1993) Seasonal and diel changes in the abundance and vertical distribution of the Antarctic copepod species Calanoides acutus, Calanus propinguus, Rhincalanus gigas, Metridia gerlachei and Euchaeta antarctica (Calanoida) in Croker Passage (Antarctic Peninsula). Oceanologia 35:101–127

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Plankton Research, Institute of Oceanography, University of Gdansk, Al. Marszalka Pilsudskiego 46, 81-378, Gdynia, Poland

    Anna A. Panasiuk-Chodnicka & Maria I. Żmijewska

Authors
  1. Anna A. Panasiuk-Chodnicka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Maria I. Żmijewska
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna A. Panasiuk-Chodnicka.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Panasiuk-Chodnicka, A.A., Żmijewska, M.I. Cnidaria from the Croker passage (Antarctic Peninsula) with a special focus on Siphonophorae. Polar Biol 33, 1131–1143 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0802-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0802-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation