Modelling the life cycle of Salpa thompsoni

Salpa thompsoni is an important grazer in the Southern Ocean. It is found from the Subtropical Convergence southward to the coastal Antarctic Seas but being most abundant in the Antarctic Polar Frontal Zone. Low temperatures appear to negatively affect their development, limiting their ability to occur in the krill dominated high Antarctic ecosystems. Yet reports indicate that with ocean warming S. thompsoni have experienced a southward shift in their distribution. As they are efficient filter feeders, this shift can result in large-scale changes in the Southern Ocean ecosystem by increasing competitive or predatory interactions with Antarctic krill. To explore salp bloom dynamics in the Southern Ocean a size-structured S. thompsoni population model was developed with growth, consumption, reproduction and mortality rates dependent on temperature and chlorophyll a conditions. The largest uncertainties in S. thompsoni population ecology are individual and population growth rates, with a recent study identifying the possibility that the life cycle could be much shorter than previously considered. Here we run a suite of hypothesis scenarios under various environmental conditions to determine the most appropriate growth rate. Temperature and chlorophyll a were sufficient drivers to recreate seasonal and interannual dynamics of salp populations at two locations. The most suitable growth model suggests that mean S. thompsoni growth rates are likely to be ∼1mm body length d−1, 2-fold higher than previous calculations. S. thompsoni biomass was dependent on bud release time, with larger biomass years corresponding to bud release occurring during favorable environmental conditions; increasing the survival and growth of blastozooids and resulting in higher embryo release. This model confirms that it is necessary for growth and reproductive rates to be flexible in order for the salp population to adapt to varying environmental conditions and provides a framework that can examine how future salp populations might respond to climate change

Freshwater jellyfish in northern temperate lakes: Craspedacusta sowerbii in British Columbia, Canada

Freshwater jellyfish species of the genus Craspedacusta purportedly originated from the Yangtze River catchment area, China, and have now been observed on all continents except Antarctica. Sightings of C. sowerbii in the Pacific regions of Canada were compiled to document some of the northernmost records of this species in the Americas. Species identification has been difficult in the past. Therefore, field collection of specimens was carried out on southern Vancouver Island. The morphology was described macro- and microscopically as well as molecularly using mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Collected hydromedusae from British Columbia (BC) did not deviate morphologically from C. sowerbii specimens from other continents, but molecular analyses support the idea of 2 main widely distributed lineages hidden under similar morphological features (i.e. a species complex). Through a community science approach, an understanding of the extent of C. sowerbii distribution in western and southern BC (present in 24 lakes from as early as 1990) has been established. Results showed that the number of sightings increased considerably in the period after 2010. Recent increases in sightings of C. sowerbii in BC and worldwide could be indicative of a climate warming-related range extension or growing public awareness and/or increased observational efforts. Even after more than 120 yr of Craspedacusta research, much about their biology and ecology remains unknown, which motivated us to compile a list of knowledge gaps based on an extensive literature survey

Genetic variability, biomass parameters, elemental composition and energy content of the non-indigenous hydromedusa Craspedacusta sowerbii in North America

Abstract The freshwater hydrozoan Craspedacusta sowerbii was introduced to habitats around the world and they spread into the surrounding water bodies thereafter. Despite an increase in reported observations, little is known about its genetics, physiology and ecology. The present study examined the organic content, elemental composition and energy content of jellyfish collected in Canada and the USA and compared these metrics with their marine counterparts and other co-occurring zooplankton. Specimens from the sampled lakes were sexed and molecularly characterized. Molecular, stoichiometric and energetic information is critical in determining distribution pathways and trophic connections. Molecular analyses showed two closely related sequences in North America, one shared by the Canadian and Japanese specimens, while another one is widely present across the Americas. Organic and all elemental contents were higher compared to marine jellyfish species. Estimated energy content of C. sowerbii was 20–27 kJ g DW−1, which is 2-fold higher than for marine hydrozoans and compared well with cladocerans, copepods and rotifers. Estimated C/P values indicated that cladocerans and copepods are suitable prey for C. sowerbii and that jellyfish may compete with juvenile fish to fulfill similar nutrient demands. Freshwater jellyfish were stoichiometrically and energetically different from marine hydrozoans, indicating higher importance in freshwater food webs than previously thought.</jats:p

Discerning population connectivity and natal origins of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi): inferences on population structure from otolith chemistry

Pacific herring, Clupea pallasi, undertake annual migrations between feeding and spawning grounds that link life stages, habitats, populations, communities, and ecosystems. However, movement patterns of these highly mobile fish are poorly understood. Declines in Pacific herring abundance and slow population recoveries in the absence of fishing pressure have elevated concerns over the status of this ecologically, economically, and culturally important species. Pacific herring spawn on substrate in nearshore habitats where eggs and larvae develop for approximately two weeks before hatching. Early development within discrete spawning grounds could facilitate the incorporation of distinctive chemical signatures within otoliths that could be used as intrinsic markers to trace movements and mixing among groups or regions. Identifying the direction and strength of connectivity among groups can reveal source populations and promote the development of population- and ecosystem-based management strategies that reflect ecologically relevant spatial scales. We applied otolith microchemistry data to: 1) test the utility of elemental signatures to distinguish the natal origins of larval herring; 2) evaluate inter-annual variation in natal signatures within spawning sites; and 3) assess the similarity of edge and natal signatures of adult herring within and among spawning sites. In 2015 and 2016, we sampled actively spawning adult herring and their offspring in the northern Salish Sea and across British Columbia, Canada. Otoliths were extracted, aged, and their elemental composition analyzed using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Cohort-specific analyses were applied to assess consistency among elemental signatures and broader, age-specific movement patterns. Our analyses show that otolith elemental signatures of Pacific herring can provide insight into complex population structure at scales of 10s – 1000 kms to inform and enhance spatially-explicit approaches to conservation and management

Blooms of a key grazer in the Southern Ocean – An individual-based model of Salpa thompsoni

The Southern Ocean near the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is strongly affected by climate change resulting in warmer air temperature, accompanied with reduced sea ice coverage, increased sea water temperature and potential changes in the abundances of two key grazer species Salpa thompsoni (salp) and Euphausia superba (Antarctic krill). While salp abundance is hypothesized to increase, krill abundance is hypothesized to decline with dramatic consequences for the entire food web of the Southern Ocean. A better understanding of the biotic interaction between krill and salps and their population dynamics is thus crucial. However, the life cycle of salps is complicated and barely understood. Therefore, we have developed an individual-based model describing the whole life cycle to better understand the population dynamics of salps and the conditions for blooms. The model has been used to explore if and under what conditions the empirical pattern of large variability in observed salp abundances at the WAP, generated by the long-term data of the US Antarctic Marine Living Resources Program (AMLR) can emerge from a small seeding population. The model reproduced this empirical pattern if daily growth rates of oozoids were higher than previously reported for the WAP (mean growth rate for oozoids ~ 1 mm d−1) and if growth rates of blastozooids were lower (mean growth rate ~ 0.2 mm d−1). The model suggests that a prerequisite for local salp blooms requires a small founding population in early spring. With climate change it has been suggested that more frequent and earlier transport of salps into the WAP or winter survival will occur. Hence, the risk of salp blooms in the WAP is likely to substantially increase. These findings highlight the importance for an improved quantitative understanding of how primary production and the southward advection of salps will be impacted by climate change

Sea-ice habitat minimizes grazing impact and predation risk for larval Antarctic krill

Survival of larval Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) during winter is largely dependent upon the presence of sea ice as it provides an important source of food and shelter. We hypothesized that sea ice provides additional benefits because it hosts fewer competitors and provides reduced predation risk for krill larvae than the water column. To test our hypothesis, zooplankton were sampled in the Weddell-Scotia Confluence Zone at the ice-water interface (0–2 m) and in the water column (0–500 m) during August–October 2013. Grazing by mesozooplankton, expressed as a percentage of the phytoplankton standing stock, was higher in the water column (1.97 ± 1.84%) than at the ice-water interface (0.08 ± 0.09%), due to a high abundance of pelagic copepods. Predation risk by carnivorous macrozooplankton, expressed as a percentage of the mesozooplankton standing stock, was significantly lower at the ice-water interface (0.83 ± 0.57%; main predators amphipods, siphonophores and ctenophores) than in the water column (4.72 ± 5.85%; main predators chaetognaths and medusae). These results emphasize the important role of sea ice as a suitable winter habitat for larval krill with fewer competitors and lower predation risk. These benefits should be taken into account when considering the response of Antarctic krill to projected declines in sea ice. Whether reduced sea-ice algal production may be compensated for by increased water column production remains unclear, but the shelter provided by sea ice would be significantly reduced or disappear, thus increasing the predation risk on krill larvae

South African research in the Southern Ocean: New opportunities but serious challenges

South Africa has a long track record in Southern Ocean and Antarctic research and has recently invested considerable funds in acquiring new infrastructure for ongoing support of this research. This infrastructure includes a new base at Marion Island and a purpose-built ice capable research vessel, which greatly expand research opportunities. Despite this investment, South Africa's standing as a participant in this critical field is threatened by confusion, lack of funding, lack of consultation and lack of transparency. The research endeavour is presently bedevilled by political manoeuvring among groups with divergent interests that too often have little to do with science, while past and present contributors of research are excluded from discussions that aim to formulate research strategy. This state of affairs is detrimental to the country's aims of developing a leadership role in climate change and Antarctic research and squanders both financial and human capital

Biological responses to change in Antarctic sea ice habitats

Sea ice is a key habitat in the high latitude Southern Ocean and is predicted to change in its extent, thickness and duration in coming decades. The sea-ice cover is instrumental in mediating ocean–atmosphere exchanges and provides an important substrate for organisms from microbes and algae to predators. Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, is reliant on sea ice during key phases of its life cycle, particularly during the larval stages, for food and refuge from their predators, while other small grazers, including copepods and amphipods, either live in the brine channel system or find food and shelter at the ice-water interface and in gaps between rafted ice blocks. Fish, such as the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum, use platelet ice (loosely-formed frazil crystals) as an essential hatching and nursery ground. In this paper, we apply the framework of the Marine Ecosystem Assessment for the Southern Ocean (MEASO) to review current knowledge about relationships between sea ice and associated primary production and secondary consumers, their status and the drivers of sea-ice change in this ocean. We then use qualitative network modelling to explore possible responses of lower trophic level sea-ice biota to different perturbations, including warming air and ocean temperatures, increased storminess and reduced annual sea-ice duration. This modelling shows that pelagic algae, copepods, krill and fish are likely to decrease in response to warming temperatures and reduced sea-ice duration, while salp populations will likely increase under conditions of reduced sea-ice duration and increased number of days of >0°C. Differences in responses to these pressures between the five MEASO sectors were also explored. Greater impacts of environmental pressures on ice-related biota occurring presently were found for the West and East Pacific sectors (notably the Ross Sea and western Antarctic Peninsula), with likely flow-on effects to the wider ecosystem. All sectors are expected to be impacted over coming decades. Finally, we highlight priorities for future sea ice biological research to address knowledge gaps in this field

Biological responses to change in Antarctic sea ice habitats

Sea ice is a key habitat in the high latitude Southern Ocean and is predicted to change in its extent, thickness and duration in coming decades. The sea-ice cover is instrumental in mediating ocean–atmosphere exchanges and provides an important substrate for organisms from microbes and algae to predators. Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, is reliant on sea ice during key phases of its life cycle, particularly during the larval stages, for food and refuge from their predators, while other small grazers, including copepods and amphipods, either live in the brine channel system or find food and shelter at the ice-water interface and in gaps between rafted ice blocks. Fish, such as the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum, use platelet ice (loosely-formed frazil crystals) as an essential hatching and nursery ground. In this paper, we apply the framework of the Marine Ecosystem Assessment for the Southern Ocean (MEASO) to review current knowledge about relationships between sea ice and associated primary production and secondary consumers, their status and the drivers of sea-ice change in this ocean. We then use qualitative network modelling to explore possible responses of lower trophic level sea-ice biota to different perturbations, including warming air and ocean temperatures, increased storminess and reduced annual sea-ice duration. This modelling shows that pelagic algae, copepods, krill and fish are likely to decrease in response to warming temperatures and reduced sea-ice duration, while salp populations will likely increase under conditions of reduced sea-ice duration and increased number of days of &gt;0°C. Differences in responses to these pressures between the five MEASO sectors were also explored. Greater impacts of environmental pressures on ice-related biota occurring presently were found for the West and East Pacific sectors (notably the Ross Sea and western Antarctic Peninsula), with likely flow-on effects to the wider ecosystem. All sectors are expected to be impacted over coming decades. Finally, we highlight priorities for future sea ice biological research to address knowledge gaps in this field

The role of zooplankton communities in carbon recycling in the Ocean: the case of the Southern Ocean

Basin-scale carbon recycling estimates were obtained by combining high-resolution data on zooplankton taxonomic and functional composition with species-specific respiration rates. Datasets were collected in the Atlantic and Indian sectors of the Southern Ocean during four cruises covering spring, mid-summer, autumn and late winter between 1993 and 1998. Carbon recycling by Antarctic meso-and macrozooplankton represented a significant (44-62%) fraction of the primary production, which is at the higher end of previous estimates. Assessment based on detailed community structure appeared to be more realistic than previous estimates and showed that carbon dioxide recycling at the global scale is not a mere function of temperature and abundance of zooplankton. Both species and functional diversity influence current estimates at the community level through trophic type and developmental stage composition. In addition, a regional spatial heterogeneity linked to hydrodynamic features (frontal zones) is also important. The Southern Ocean zooplankton community respiration is assessed to be similar to 0.6 GtC year(-1)