Abstract
During R.R.S. “Discovery” Cruise 100 in the Southern Ocean (1979), 620 specimens of the Antarctic cranchiid squid Galiteuthis glacialis (Chun) were caught in the RMT8 opening-closing net, to the south of the Antarctic Polar Front (APF). The catch was dominated by individuals <20 mm dorsal mantle length (DML) and, apart from two specimens, the rest of the catch was <60 mm DML. Two larger squid (255 mm DML) were both immature and apparently female. The species is concentrated at a depth of 300 to 400 m; there is evidence of ontogenetic spreading and a shift in the modal depth of the population from the 300 to 400 m horizon in daylight to the 200 to 300 m horizon in darkness. The collection confirms the circumpolar distribution of the species and supports previous evidence that it rarely, if ever, occurs to the north of the APF. As in Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, the only other species of cranchiid squid known to occur south of the APF, the early-life phase of G. glacialis is concentrated in the upper zone of the “warm deep water” beneath the Antarctic surface layer where, putatively, there is a zone of enhanced biological activity.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Berruti, A. and T. Harcus: The cephalopod prey of the sooty albatrosses Phoebetria fusca and P. palpetrata at Marion Island. S. Afr. J. antarct. Res. 8, 99–108 (1978)
Chun, C.: Die Cephalopoden. Wiss. Ergebn. dt. Tiefsee-Exped. ‘Valdivia’ 18, 1–410 (1910)
Clarke, M. R.: Cephalopods in the diet of sperm whales of the southern hemisphere and their bearing on sperm whale biology. ‘Discovery’ Rep. 37, 1–324 (1980)
Clarke, M. R.: Cephalopod biomass — estimation from predators. Mem. natn. Mus. Vict. 44, 95–107 (1983)
Clarke, M. R., J. P. Croxall and P. A. Prince: Cephalopod remains in the regurgitations of the wandering albatross Diomedia exulans L. at South Georgia. Br. Antarct. Surv. Bull. 54, 9–21 (1981)
Clarke, M. R. and C. C. Lu: Vertical distribution of cephalopods at 30°S 23°W in the North Atlantic. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 54, 969–984 (1974)
Clarke, M. R. and C. C. Lu: Vertical distribution of cephalopods at 18°N 25°W in the North Atlantic. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 55, 165–182 (1975)
Clarke, M. R. and N. McLeod: Cephalopods in the diets of elephant seals at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands. Br. Antarct. Surv. Bull. 57, 27–31 (1982)
Clarke, M. R. and P. Prince: Cephalopod remains in regurgitations of black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses at South Georgia. Br. Antarct. Surv. Bull. 54, 1–7 (1981)
Deacon, G. E. R.: The hydrology of the Southern Ocean. ‘Discovery’ Rep. 15, 1–24 (1937)
Dell, R. K.: Cephalopoda. Rep. B.A.N.Z. antarct. Res. Exped. (Ser. B) 8, 89–106 (1959)
Denton, E. J., J. B. Gilpin-Brown and T. I. Shaw: A buoyancy mechanism found in cranchiid squid. Proc. R. Soc. (Ser. B) 174, 271–279 (1969)
Imber, M. J. and A. Berruti: Procellariiform seabirds as squid predators. In: Proceedings of the Symposium on birds of the sea and shore, 1979, pp 43–61. Ed. by J. Cooper. Cape Town: African Seabird Group 1981
Lu, C. C. and M. R. Clarke: Vertical distribution of cephalopods at 40°N, 53°N and 60°N at 20°W in the North Atlantic. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 55, 143–163 (1975a)
Lu, C. C. and M. R. Clarke: Vertical distribution of cephalopods at 11°N, 20°W in the North Atlantic. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 55, 369–389 (1975b)
Mauchline, J.: The biology of mysids and euphausids. Adv. mar. Biol. 18, 1–681 (1980)
McSweeny, E. S.: Morphology and distribution of the Antarctic cranchiid squid Galiteuthis glacialis (Chun), 185pp. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Miami 1971
McSweeny, E. S.: Systematics and morphology of the Antarctic cranchiid squid Galiteuthis glacialis (Chun). Biology of the Antarctic Seas VII. Antarctic Res. Ser. 27, 1–39 (1978)
Offredo, C., V. Ridoux and M. R. Clarke: Cephalopods in the diet of Emperor and Adelie penguins in Adelie Land, Antarctica. Mar. Biol. 86, 199–202 (1985)
Rodhouse, P. G. and M. R. Clarke: Growth and distribution of young Mesonychteuthis hamiltoni Robson: an Antarctic squid. Vie Milieu (In press)
Roe, H. S. J. and D. M. Shale: A new multiple rectangular midwater trawl (RMT1+8M) and some modifications to the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences' RMT 1+8. Mar. Biol. 50, 283–288 (1979)
Roper, C. F. E. and R. E. Young: Vertical distribution of pelagic cephalopods. Smithson. Contr. Zool. 13, 1–51, 32 figs., 16 pls (1975)
Steedman, H. F.: General and applied data on formaldehyde fixation and preservation of marine zooplankton. In: Zooplankton fixation and preservation, pp 103–154. Ed. by H. F. Steedman. Paris: U.N.E.S.C.O. 1976
Tchernia, P.: Descriptive regional oceanography, 253 pp. Oxford: Pergamon 1980
Voss, N. A.: A generic revision of the Granchiidae (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida). Bull. mar. Sci. 30, 365–412 (1980)
Voss, N. A. and R. S. Voss: Phylogenetic relationships in the cephalopod family Cranchiidae (Oegopsida). Malacologia 23, 397–426 (1983)
Walsh, J. J.: Relative importance of habitat variables in predicting the distribution of phytoplankton at the ecotone of the Antarctic upwelling ecosystem. Ecol. Monogr. 41, 291–309 (1971)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by J. Mauchline, Oban
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rodhouse, P.G., Clarke, M.R. Distribution of the early-life phase of the Antarctic squid Galiteuthis glacialis in relation to the hydrology of the Southern Ocean in the sector 15° to 30°E. Mar. Biol. 91, 353–357 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00428629
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00428629