Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

PC05 Zooplankton Production, Physiology, and Ecology

Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2001

Location: Southwest Hall

Quetin, L, B, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA, langdon@icess.ucsb.edu

Ross, R, M, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA, robin@icess.ucsb.edu

Frazer, T, K, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA, frazer@ufl.edu

Amsler, M, O, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, USA, mamsler@uab.edu

Wyatt-Evens, C, , CUBE Corporation, New Orleans, USA,

Oakes, S, A, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, USA, oakes@lifesci.ucsb.edu

GROWTH OF LARVAL ANTARCTIC KRILL IN THE PACK ICE HABITAT: INTERANNUAL AND SEASONAL VARIABILITY

Physiological and behavioral evidence suggests that larval Antarctic krill survive prolonged periods of low phytoplankton abundance in the winter water column by feeding on pack ice-associated biota. If growth during this period is primarily a function of the presence of sea ice and its biota, then growth rates of larval krill in fall and winter should vary with the presence of sea ice. To test this hypothesis, instantaneous growth rate experiments were conducted during eight cruises over six years (1987 - 1999). Cruises occurred west of the Antarctic Peninsula from fall through early spring. In 1993, there were three cruises: (1) during fall prior to ice formation, (2) during mid-winter ice-formation, and (3) during early spring ice-melt. Growth increments decreased from fall (Apr-May, ~6%) to early winter (Jun, ~0%), then increased markedly by early spring (Sept, ~11%). Data from other years were consistent with the 1993 findings, i.e. interannual was less than seasonal variability. These results explained the limited increases in length generally observed in larval populations over winter.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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