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Science 16 May 1986:
Vol. 232. no. 4752, pp. 847 - 849
DOI: 10.1126/science.232.4752.847
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Articles

Antarctic Mesopelagic Micronekton: Evidence from Seabirds That Pack Ice Affects Community Structure

D. G. AINLEY 1, W. R. FRASER 1, C. W. SULLIVAN 2, J. J. TORRES 3, T. L. HOPKINS 3, and W. O. SMITH 4

1 Point Reyes Bird Observatory, Stinson Beach, CA 94970.
2 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089.
3 Department of Marine Sciences, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
4 Botany Department, and Graduate Program Ecology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996.

Through a multidisciplinary project (AMERIEZ), with an unusual complement of components, previously unknown temporal and spatial dimensions to the structure of Antarctic epipelagic and mesopelagic communities were revealed. In late spring, an abundance of crustacean species thought to occur only below 300 meters was detected in ice-covered surface waters. Evident in ice-free waters were the expected occurrence patterns of these normally nonmigratory mesopelagic organisms. Where the pack was consolidated and little light penetrated to depth, primary and secondary production was confined to ice floes, and the physical environment immediately beneath the ice was reminiscent of a mesopelagic one. This suite of characteristics possibly explains why the crustaceans resided at the surface.

Submitted on September 9, 1985
Accepted on February 5, 1986


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Ozone depletion: ultraviolet radiation and phytoplankton biology in antarctic waters.
R. Smith, B. Prezelin, K. Baker, R. Bidigare, N. Boucher, T Coley, D Karentz, S MacIntyre, H. Matlick, D Menzies, et al. (1992)
Science 255, 952-959
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