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Mesozooplankton beneath the summer sea ice in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica: abundance, species composition, and DMSP content

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Abstract

The summer Phaeocystis antarctica bloom increases under-ice phytoplankton biomass in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. The magnitude of mesozooplankton grazing on this bloom is unknown, and determines whether this production is available to the pelagic food web. We measured mesozooplankton abundance and body content of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) during the McMurdo Sound austral summer (2006 and 2006–2007). Abundance varied from 20 to 4,500 ind. m−3 (biomass 0.02–274.0 mg C m−3), with peaks in mid-December and late-January/February. Abundance was higher but total zooplankton biomass lower in our study compared to previous reports. Copepods and the pteropod Limacina helicina dominated the zooplankton in both abundance and biomass. DMSP was detected in all zooplankton groups, with highest concentrations in copepod nauplii and L. helicina (95 and 54 nmol mg−1 body C, respectively). Experiments suggested that L. helicina obtains DMSP by directly grazing on P. antarctica, which often accumulates to high biomass under the summer sea ice in McMurdo Sound.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the support staff of Raytheon Polar Services and McMurdo Station, and all the participants of the ESCAP (Ecology of Solitary and Colonial Antarctic Phaeocystis) project. Funding was provided by National Science Foundation OPP grant ANT-0440478. Amy Shields, an employee of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), participated in this research prior to her employment with EPA. It was conducted independent of her EPA employment and has not been subjected to the Agency’s peer and administrative review. Therefore, the conclusions and opinions drawn are solely those of the authors and are not necessarily the views of the Agency. This is VIMS contribution 2961.

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  1. Amy R. Shields

    Present address: Water Quality Management Branch, Water, Wetlands, and Pesticides Division, USEPA Region 7, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, KS, 66101, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, Gloucester Pt., Williamsburg, VA, 23062, USA

    David T. Elliott, Kam W. Tang & Amy R. Shields

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  1. David T. Elliott
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Correspondence to David T. Elliott.

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Elliott, D.T., Tang, K.W. & Shields, A.R. Mesozooplankton beneath the summer sea ice in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica: abundance, species composition, and DMSP content. Polar Biol 32, 113–122 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-008-0511-3

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