Contribution to the marine biodiversity inventory: a checklist of the Amphipoda (Crustacea) of the Southern Ocean

A checklist, with synonymical bibliography, of all benthic, supralittoral and pelagic Amphipoda (Gammaridea, Caprellidea and Hyperiidea) occurring in the Southern Ocean is drawn up, mostly from taxonomical literature checked until 31 December 1992. 883 taxa have been recorded: 711 spp. and subspp. of Gammaridea, 28 spp. of Caprellidea, 69 spp. and subspp. of Hyperiidea as well as 75 unidentified spp. (73 Gammaridea, 2 Caprellidea). Distribution in the East or West Antarctic sub-regions, in the Subantarctic Islands sub-region, in the Magellanic sub-region and in the Tristan da Cunha district is mentioned. Bathyal and abyssal benthic occurrence is indicated as well as the general bathymetrical distribution of the pelagic species occurring south of 45°S. The Barnard & Barnard (1983) coded geographic system for reporting distribution of taxa is revised for the Southern Ocean and a new list of geographic codes of general application for Antarctic and Subantarctic benthos is provided. The benthic Amphipod fauna of the Southern Ocean comprises 702 species (85 % endemic) of which 451 are distributed in the Antarctic region (78.4% endemic) and 342 in the Subantarctic region (50.8 % endemic). Endemicity at the genus level attains 36.7 % for the whole Southern Ocean, 26.2% for the Antarctic and 13.5% for the Subantarctic region respectively

Revision of the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic species of the family Stegocephalidae (Crustacea: Amphipoda) with description of two new species

The Antarctic and sub-Antarctic elements of the family Stegocephalidae DANA, 1855 (Crustacea: Amphipoda) are revised, and a key to the species is presented. Two new species are described: Andaniexis ollii n.sp. and Phippsiella watlingi n.sp. The family is represented in the Southern Ocean by 19 species belonging to 11 genera, of which one is reported as new to the area

Belgian Antarctic Expeditions: bibliography

This bibliography is based upon earlier working documents by T. Van Autenboer and P. Doyen. It was completed with data contained in an internal report on marine biology by C. de Broyer (1982). The compilers at tempt to present a list as complete as possible of the scientific papers and data reports related to Belgian Antarctic Research starting with the I.G.Y. A selection of articles of general interest or of narrative value is included

Food and feeding ecology of the sympatric thin-billed <i>Pachyptila belcheri</i> and Antarctic <i>P. desolata</i> prions at Iles Kerguelen, Southern Indian Ocean

The food and feeding ecology of the 2 closely related species of prions Pachyptila belcheri and P. desolata was investigated over 3 consecutive chick-rearing periods at Iles Kerguelen, the only place where they nest sympatrically in large numbers. In all years, the 2 prion species fed on crustaceans, with a small proportion of mesopelagic fish and squid. The hyperiid amphipod Themisto gaudichaudii was consistently the dominant prey item, accounting for 76 and 70% by number, and 57 and 57% by reconstituted mass of the diet of P. belcheri and P. desolata, respectively. Prions, however, were segregated by feeding on different euphausiids, P. belcheri on Thysanoessa sp. (18% by number and 16% by mass) and P. desolata on Euphausia vallentini (9% by number and 15% by mass). P. desolata also caught more small prey such as copepods (9 vs Lepas australis (8 vs 3% by number) than P. belcheri, which can be related to the beak filtering apparatus present only in the former species. Biogeography of the prey and their state of digestion indicate that prions foraged in a wide variety of marine habitats, including the kelp belt, kelp rafts, and coastal, neritic and oceanic waters. Noticeable is the occurrence of E. superba in a significant number of food samples (15 and 10% for P. belcheri and P. desolata, respectively), suggesting feeding in distant foraging grounds in southern Antarctic waters, >1000 km from the breeding colonies, during the chick-rearing period. The stable-carbon and -nitrogen isotopic compositions of chick feathers were identical in both species, indicating no important trophic segregation during the breeding period, when adult birds are central-place foragers. The ratios were, however, different in adult feathers, suggesting moulting in Antarctic waters for P. belcheri and in subtropical waters for P. desolata, i.e. in distinct foraging areas when birds are not constrained to return to the colonies

Will giant polar amphipods be first to fare badly in an oxygen-poor ocean? Testing hypotheses linking oxygen to body size

Respirometry A.Comparing closed and semi-open respirometer techniques. B.VO2 and body mas

Composition and distribution of the peracarid crustacean fauna along a latitudinal transect off Victoria Land (Ross Sea, Antarctica) with special emphasis on the Cumacea

The following study was the first to describe composition and structure of the peracarid fauna systematically along a latitudinal transect off Victoria Land (Ross Sea, Antarctica). During the 19th Antarctic expedition of the Italian research vessel “Italica” in February 2004, macrobenthic samples were collected by means of a Rauschert dredge with a mesh size of 500 m at depths between 85 and 515 m. The composition of peracarid crustaceans, especially Cumacea was investigated. Peracarida contributed 63% to the total abundance of the fauna. The peracarid samples were dominated by amphipods (66%), whereas cumaceans were represented with 7%. Previously, only 13 cumacean species were known, now the number of species recorded from the Ross Sea increased to 34. Thus, the cumacean fauna of the Ross Sea, which was regarded as the poorest in terms of species richness, has to be considered as equivalent to that of other high Antarctic areas. Most important cumacean families concerning abundance and species richness were Leuconidae, Nannastacidae, and Diastylidae. Cumacean diversity was lowest at the northernmost area (Cape Adare). At the area off Coulman Island, which is characterized by muddy sediment, diversity was highest. Diversity and species number were higher at the deeper stations and abundance increased with latitude. A review of the bathymetric distribution of the Cumacea from the Ross Sea reveals that most species distribute across the Antarctic continental shelf and slope. So far, only few deep-sea records justify the assumption of a shallow-water–deep-sea relationship in some species of Ross Sea Cumacea, which is discussed from an evolutionary point of view