Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Examination of the meroplankton community in the south-western Ross Sea, Antarctica, using a collapsible plankton net

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Polar Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The meroplankton community in the coastal Antarctic has been poorly studied, in part due to the presence of extensive sea-ice cover during the summer months. In this study, a collapsible plankton net was used to examine the meroplankton community at two sites in the south-western Ross Sea: at Cape Evans on Ross Island, and at Cape Roberts on the Victoria Land coast. Three samples were taken on 5 consecutive days in the early summer at each site (26–30 November and 8–12 December 2001) and 11 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were quantified from the phyla Annelida, Mollusca, Nemertea, Echinodermata and Sipuncula and the early developmental stages of undetermined phyla. Multivariate analysis showed that there were distinct differences in the meroplankton communities at the two locations, but because there was a 2-week difference in the time of sampling between sites, location and time are confounded variables. On average, a total of 16 larvae/eggs/embryos were collected per tow (3.92 m3) at Cape Evans and 27 larvae/eggs/embryos at Cape Roberts, with a significant difference in total larval numbers and in numbers of 4/6 larval types tested between location and time. This research has shown that a collapsible plankton net can be used for meroplankton work in remote locations in the coastal Antarctic and that a diverse meroplankton community is evident in the south-western Ross Sea in the early summer.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Absher TM, Boehs G, Feijó AR, da Cruz AC (2003) Pelagic larvae of benthic gastropods from shallow Antarctic waters of Admiralty Bay, King George Island. Polar Biol 26:359–364

    Google Scholar 

  • Alder VA, Boltovsky D (1993) The ecology of larger microzooplankton in the Weddell-Scotia confluence area: horizontal and vertical distribution patterns. J Mar Res 51:323–344

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MJ (2001) A new method for non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance. Aust Ecol 26:32–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MJ (2003a) NPMANOVA: a FORTRAN computer program for non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance (for any two-factor ANOVA design) using permutation tests. Department of Statistics University of Auckland, New Zealand (http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~mja/Programs.htm)

  • Anderson MJ (2003b) NPDISP: a FORTRAN computer program for non-parametric analysis of multivariate dispersions (for any two-factor ANOVA design) using permutation tests. Department of Statistics, University of Auckland, New Zealand (http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~mja/Programs.htm)

  • Anderson MJ (2003c) CAP: a FORTRAN computer program for canonical analysis of principal coordinates. Department of Statistics, University of Auckland, New Zealand (http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~mja/Programs.htm)

  • Anderson MJ, Robinson J (2003) Generalized discriminant analysis based on distances. Aust NZ J Stat 45:301–318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MJ, Willis TJ (2003) Canonical analysis of principal coordinates: a useful method of constrained ordination for ecology. Ecology 84:511–525

    Google Scholar 

  • Arntz WE, Gili J-M (2001) A case for tolerance in marine ecology: let us not put out the baby with the bathwater. Sci Mar 65 [Suppl 2]:283–299

    Google Scholar 

  • Avois C, Legendre P, Masson S, Pinel-Alloul B (2000) Is the sampling strategy interfering with the study of spatial variability of zooplankton communities? Can J Fish Aquat Sci 57:1940–1956

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Azam F, Beers JR, Campbell L, Carlucci AF, Holm-Hansen O, Reid FMH, Karl DM (1979) Occurrence and metabolic activity of organisms under the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica, at Station J9. Science 203:451–453

    Google Scholar 

  • Barry JP (1988) Hydrographic patterns in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica and their relationship to local benthic communities. Polar Biol 8:377–391

    Google Scholar 

  • Barry JP, Dayton PK (1988) Current patterns in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica and their relationship to local biotic communities. Polar Biol 8:367–376

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayly IAE (1986) Ecology of the zooplankton of a meromictic antarctic lagoon with special reference to Drepanopus bispinosus (Copepoda: Calanoida). Hydrobiologia 140:199–231

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhaud M, Koubbi P, Razouls S, Tachon O, Accornero A (1999) Description of planktonic polychaete larvae from Terre Adélie and the Ross Sea (Antarctica). Polar Biol 22:329–340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bosch I, Beauchamp KA, Steele ME, Pearse JS (1987) Development, metamorphosis, and seasonal abundance of embryos and larvae of the Antarctic sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri. Biol Bull 173:126–135

    Google Scholar 

  • Bullivant JS, Dearborn JH (1967) The fauna of the Ross Sea Part 5. General accounts, station lists, and benthic ecology. Mem NZ Oceanogr Inst 32:77

    Google Scholar 

  • Carli A, Pane L (2000) Crustacean decapod larvae in Terra Nova Bay and in the Ross Sea (Cruises 1987–88 and 1989–90). In: Faranda FM, Guglielmo L, Ianora A (eds) Ross Sea Ecology, Italiantartide Expeditions (1987–95). Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 323–333

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke A (1992) Reproduction in the cold: Thorson revisited. Invertebr Reprod Dev 22:175–184

    Google Scholar 

  • Dayton PK, Oliver JS (1977) Antarctic soft-bottom benthos in oligotrophic and eutrophic environments. Science 197:55–58

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster BA (1987) Composition and abundance of zooplankton under the spring sea-ice of McMurdo Sound. Polar Biol 8:41–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster BA (1989a) Time and depth comparisons of sub-ice zooplankton in McMurdo Sound. Polar Biol 9:431–435

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster BA (1989b) Balanomorph barnacle larvae in the plankton at McMurdo Sound. Polar Biol 10:175–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster BA (1991) Zooplankton comparisons in McMurdo Sound. NZ Antarct Rec 11:36–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraser FC (1936) On the development and distribution of the young stages of krill (Euphausia superba). Discovery Rep XIV:1–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Fukuchi M, Tanimura A, Ohtsuka H (1985a) Zooplankton community conditions under sea ice near Syowa Station, Antarctica. Bull Mar Sci 37:518–528

    Google Scholar 

  • Fukuchi M, Tanimura A, Ohtsuka H (1985b) Marine biological and oceanographical investigations in Lützow-Holm Bay, Antarctica. In: Siegfried WR, Condy PR, Lewis RM (eds) Antarctic nutrient cycles and food webs. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 52–59

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallagher JB, Burton HR (1988) Seasonal mixing of Ellis Fjord, Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica. Estuarine Coast Shelf Sci 27:363–380

    Google Scholar 

  • Granata A, Cubeta A, Guglielmo L, Sidoti O, Greco S, Vacchi M, La Mesa M (2002) Ichthyoplankton abundance and distribution in the Ross Sea during 1987–1996. Polar Biol 25:187–202

    Google Scholar 

  • Guglielmo L, Granata A, Greco S (1998) Distribution and abundance of postlarval and juvenile Pleuragramma antarcticum (Pisces, Nototheniidae) off Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica). Polar Biol 19:37–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardy AC, Gunther ER (1935) The plankton of the South Georgia whaling grounds and adjacent waters, 1926–1927. Discovery Rep 11:1–456

    Google Scholar 

  • Hicks GRF (1974) Variation in zooplankton biomass with hydrological regime beneath the seasonal ice, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. NZ J Mar Freshwater Res 8:67–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Hopkins TL (1987) Midwater food web in McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea, Antarctica. Mar Biol 96:93–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirkwood JM (1993) Zooplankton community dynamics and diel vertical migration in Ellis Fjord, Vestfold Hills Antarctica. PhD Thesis, Monash University

  • Kirkwood JM, Burton HR (1987) Three new zooplankton nets designed for under-ice sampling; with preliminary results of collections made from Ellis Fjord, Antarctica during 1985. Proc NIPR Symp Polar Biol 1:112–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirkwood JM, Burton HR (1988) Macrobenthic species assemblages in Ellis Fjord, Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. Mar Biol 97:445–457

    Google Scholar 

  • Knox GA (1981) Biological oceanography of the Ross Sea (Extended abstract). J R Soc NZ 11:341–347

    Google Scholar 

  • Knox GA (1990) Primary production and consumption in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. In: Kerry KR, Hempel G (eds) Antarctic ecosystems, ecological change and conservation. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 115–128

    Google Scholar 

  • Knox GA, Waghorn EJ, Ensor P (1996) Summer plankton beneath the McMurdo Ice Shelf at White Island, McMurdo sound, Antarctica. Polar Biol 16:87–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knox GA, Cameron DB (1998) The marine fauna of the Ross Sea: Polychaeta. NIWA Biodivers Mem 108:125

    Google Scholar 

  • La Mesa M, Granata A, Guglielmo L, Vacchi M (2000) First description of larvae of Acanthodraco dewitti in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. J Fish Biol 57 [Suppl A]:163–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamare MD, Barker MF (1999) In situ estimates of larval development and mortality in the New Zealand sea urchin Evechinus chloroticus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 180:197–211

    Google Scholar 

  • Lebour MV (1935) The echinospira larvae (Mollusca) of Plymouth. Proc Zool Soc Lond 1935:163–174

    Google Scholar 

  • Littlepage JL (1965) Oceanographic investigations in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. In: Llano G (ed) Biology of Antarctic Seas, vol II. Antarctic Research Series, vol 2, pp 1–37

  • Littlepage JL (1968) Plankton investigations in McMurdo Sound. Antarct J US 3:162–163

    Google Scholar 

  • MacBride EW (1920) Echinoderma (part II) and Enteropneusta. Larvae of Echinoderma and Enteropneusta. Nat Hist Rep Br Antarct “Terra Nova” Exped 1910 Zool 3:83–94

    Google Scholar 

  • MacBride EW, Simpson JC (1908) Echinoderma. II. Echinoderm Larvae. Natl Antarct Exped 1901–1904 (Nat Hist) 4:1–9

    Google Scholar 

  • McArdle BH, Anderson MJ (2001) Fitting multivariate models to community data: a comment on distance-based redundancy analysis. Ecology 82:290–297

    Google Scholar 

  • McCloskey LR (1973) Development and ecological aspects of the echinospira shell of Lamellaria rhombica Dall (Prosobranchia; Mesogastropoda). Ophelia 10:155–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Medeiros-Bergen DE, Olson RR, Conroy JA, Kocher TD (1995) Distribution of holothurian larvae determined with species-specific genetic probes. Limnol Oceanogr 40:1225–1235

    Google Scholar 

  • Mileikovsky SA (1971) Types of larval development in marine invertebrates, their distribution and ecological significance: a re-evaluation. Mar Biol 10:193–213

    Google Scholar 

  • Mladenov PV, Allibone RM, Wallis GP (1997) Genetic differentiation in the New Zealand sea urchin Evechinus chloroticus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea). NZ J Mar Freshwater Res 31:261–269

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray J (1895) General observations on the distribution of marine organisms. Voyage of the H.M.S. Challenger. A summary of scientific results. Rep Sci Res pp 1431–1462

  • Norenburg JL, Stricker SA (2002) Phylum Nemertea. In: Young CM, Sewell MA, Rice ME (eds) Atlas of marine invertebrate larvae. Academic, London, pp 163–177

    Google Scholar 

  • Olson RR, Runstadler JA, Kocher TD (1991) Whose larvae? Nature 351:357–358

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pearse JS (1994) Cold-water echinoderms break ‘Thorson’s rule’. In: Eckelbarger KJ, Young CM (eds) Reproduction, larval biology and recruitment in the deep-sea benthos. Columbia University Press, New York, pp 26–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearse JS, Bosch I (1986) Are the feeding larvae of the commonest Antarctic asteroid really demersal? Bull Mar Sci 39:477–484

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearse JS, Bosch I, McClintock JB, Marinovic B, Britton R (1986) Contrasting tempos of reproduction by shallow-water animals in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Antarct J US 31:182–184

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearse JS, McClintock JB, Bosch IS (1991) Reproduction of Antarctic benthic marine invertebrates: tempos, modes and timing. Am Zool 31:65–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Peck LS, Robinson K (1994) Pelagic larval development in the brooding Antarctic brachiopod Liothyrella uva. Mar Biol 120:279–286

    Google Scholar 

  • Regan C (1916) Larval and postlarval fishes. 1. Antarctic and subantarctic fishes. Nat Hist Rep Br Antarct “Terra Nova” Exped 1910 Zool 1:125–156

    Google Scholar 

  • Rivkin RB, Bosch I, Pearse JS, Lessard EJ (1986) Bacterivory: a novel feeding mode for asteroid larvae. Science 233:1311–1314

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheltema RS, Blake JA, Williams IP (1997) Planktonic larvae of spionid and chaetopterid polychaetes from off the west coast of the Antarctic peninsula. Bull Mar Sci 60:396–404

    Google Scholar 

  • Sewell MA, Watson JC (1993) A “source” for asteroid larvae?: recruitment of Pisaster ochraceus, Pycnopodia helianthoides and Dermasterias imbricata in Nootka Sound, British Columbia. Mar Biol 117:387–398

    Google Scholar 

  • Shreeve RS, Hayward PJ (1995) A cyphonautes larva (Bryozoa: Gymnolaemata) from the Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 75:499–501

    Google Scholar 

  • Shreeve RS, Peck LS (1995) Distribution of pelagic larvae of benthic marine invertebrates in the Bellingshausen Sea. Polar Biol 15:369–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanwell-Smith D, Clarke A (1998) Seasonality of reproduction in the cushion star Odontaster validus at Signy Island, Antarctica. Mar Biol 131:479–487

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanwell-Smith D, Peck LS (1998) Temperature and embryonic development in relation to spawning and field occurrence of larvae of three Antarctic echinoderms. Biol Bull 194:44–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanwell-Smith D, Hood A, Peck LS (1997) A field guide to the pelagic invertebrate larvae of the maritime Antarctic. British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanwell-Smith D, Peck LS, Clarke A, Murray AWA, Todd CD (1999) The distribution, abundance and seasonality of pelagic marine invertebrate larvae in the maritime Antarctic. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B 354:471–484

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steedman HF (1976) Zooplankton fixation and preservation. Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Stonehouse B (1989) Polar ecology. Chapman and Hall, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanimura A, Fukuchi M, Hoshiai T (1986) Seasonal change in abundance of zooplankton and species composition of copepods in the ice-covered sea near Syowa Station, Antarctica. Mem Natl Inst Polar Res Spec Iss 40:212–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Thatje S, Fuentes V (2003) First record of anomuran and brachyuran larvae (Crustacea: Decapoda) from Antarctic waters. Polar Biol 26:279–282

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomson CW (1878) Notice of some peculiarities on the mode of propagation of certain echinoderms in the southern seas. J Linn Soc Lond Zool 13:55–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomson CW (1885) Notes on the reproduction of certain echinoderms of the southern oceans. Rep Sci Res Voyage of the HMS Challenger, vol 1. Narrative, pp 379–396

  • Thorson G (1936) The larval development, growth and metabolism of Arctic marine bottom invertebrates compared with those of other seas. Medd Groen Kjoben 100:1–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorson G (1950) Reproduction and larval ecology of marine bottom invertebrates. Biol Rev 25:1–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tucker MJ (1983) The zooplankton and ice-water interface fauna of the inshore marine area of the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. BSc (Hons) Thesis, University of Tasmania

  • Tucker MJ, Burton HR (1988) The inshore marine ecosystem off the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. Hydrobiologia 165:129–139

    Google Scholar 

  • Tucker MJ, Burton HR (1990) Seasonal and spatial variations in the zooplankton community of an eastern Antarctic coastal location. Polar Biol 10:571–579

    Google Scholar 

  • Vacchi M, La Mesa M, Greco S (1999) Summer distribution and abundance of larval and juvenile fishes in the western Ross Sea. Antarct Sci 11:54–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Waghorn EJ, Knox GA (1988) Summer tide-crack zooplankton at White Island, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. NZ J Mar Freshwater Res 22:577–582

    Google Scholar 

  • Young CM (1995) Behavior and locomotion during the dispersal phase of larval life. In: McEdward L (ed) Ecology of marine invertebrate larvae. CRC, Boca Raton, pp 249–277

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Thanks go to Geoff Tonta, Australian Antarctic Division, for providing the net design drawings and helpful advice on the construction; Stephen Warrington at the Physics Mechanical Workshop, University of Auckland, for building the net, his ongoing interest in its performance and for providing the AUTOCAD drawings used in Fig. 2; David Todd for his splicing expertise; J. Macdonald, M. Taler, Chris Smaille and Fiona Cottam for assistance in plankton sampling; V. Ward for providing Fig. 1; G. Gibson, L. Page, E. Balser and W. Jaeckle for assistance in larval identification; K. Ruggiero and M.J. Anderson for statistical advice; and Antarctica New Zealand (The New Zealand Antarctic Institute) for logistics support. J. Pearse and two anonymous reviewers made comments that improved the manuscript. Research funds to travel to Antarctica were provided by a University of Auckland Research Grant to Dr. J. Macdonald and the author.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

    Mary A. Sewell

Authors
  1. Mary A. Sewell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mary A. Sewell.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sewell, M.A. Examination of the meroplankton community in the south-western Ross Sea, Antarctica, using a collapsible plankton net. Polar Biol 28, 119–131 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-004-0670-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-004-0670-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation