Author/Authors :
Hewitt، نويسنده , , R.P. and Kim، نويسنده , , S. and Naganobu، نويسنده , , M. and Gutierrez، نويسنده , , M. and Kang، نويسنده , , D. and Takao، نويسنده , , Y. and Quinones، نويسنده , , J. and Lee، نويسنده , , Y.-H. and Shin، نويسنده , , H.-C. and Kawaguchi، نويسنده , , S. and Emery، نويسنده , , J.H. and Demer، نويسنده , , D.A. and Loeb، نويسنده , , V.J.، نويسنده ,
Abstract :
Vessels from Japan, Peru, and the USA conducted four sequential surveys designed to estimate the biomass density and demography of Antarctic krill in the vicinity of the South Shetland Islands between late December 1999 and early March 2000. The surveys were conducted during the same austral summer as the CCAMLR 2000 Survey in the Scotia Sea (Watkins et al., Deep-Sea Research, II, this issue [doi: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2004.06.010]), and the data were analyzed in a similar manner. Biomass densities were not significantly different between the surveys and averaged 49 g m−2. Maps of krill biomass indicate three areas of consistently high density: one near the eastern end of Elephant Island, one mid-way between Elephant Island and King George Island, and one near Cape Shirreff on the north side of Livingston Island. The areas of highest krill density appeared to move closer to the shelf break as the season progressed. This apparent movement was accompanied by a change in the demographic structure of the population, with smaller krill absent and a larger proportion of sexually mature animals present in late summer.