Abstract
Copepod composition, distribution, abundance and biomass were investigated in offshore waters of the South Pacific at the beginning of the Antarctic summer, during the Italian Antarctic expedition in 1989–90 with the RV Cariboo. The stations were scattered in a vast area extending from 62° to 73°S, within the longitudinal limits of 161°E and 177°W. Zooplankton samples were collected at different depth with an EZ-BIONESS-NET fitted with 500-µm mesh opening-closing nets. Depending on the hydrology and ice-cover conditions, four zones were considered in the study area from north to south, i.e. near the polar front, in the pack ice, with drifting ice and ice-free. In all areas except the pack-ice zone, the bulk of copepods occurred close to the surface. In the first 100 m, the assemblages mainly consisted of adult females of M. gerlachei and C. acutus already clustered at the surface, ready for spawning. On the pack-ice zone, however, the ascent of copepods to the surface had not yet begun or was less pronounced. The greater concentration of copepods was found in the upper 100 m of the southernmost area, i.e. the one that had been ice-free for longer. Below the 100 m depth copepod numbers and biomass abruptly diminished and copepod diversity notably increased. Recorded biomass of oceanic copepods was found to greatly vary in the upper 200 m, ranging from 0.02 to 2.3g DW/m2. It varied in the range 0.04–1.2g DW/m2 in the upper 1000 m. It was noticed that sampling methods may constitute a significant source of variability in determining zooplankton standing stocks. In the present study the highest concentrations of M. gerlachei were detected only analyzing the euphotic layer (0–200 m) divided in 20-m-thick sections, while they went undetected in the same euphotic layer divided in 100-m-thick sections.
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Sertorio, T.Z., Licandro, P., Ossola, C., Artegiani, A. (2000). Copepod Communities in the Pacific Sector of the Southern Ocean in Early Summer. In: Faranda, F.M., Guglielmo, L., Ianora, A. (eds) Ross Sea Ecology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59607-0_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59607-0_23
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