Distribution and Abundance of Zooplankton in the Bransfield Strait and the Western Weddell Sea during Austral Summer

Abstract

Zooplankton community was surveyed during the Seventh Korea Antarctic Research Program, from 28 December 1993 to 11 January 1994. Zooplankton samples were collected at 40 stations from the waters around the South Shetland Islands with a Bongo net and a MOCNESS. A total of 14 taxa of zooplankton were identified. Zooplankton abundances varied at each station as well as with the sampling gears. Zooplankton abundances were higher in the Western Weddell Sea than those in the Bransfield strait. Zooplankton collected with MOCNESS showed a different vertical distribution depending on its depths at selected stations. Copepods were the major components of zooplankton contributing 72.84% (mesh size 333 mm) and 68.36% (mesh size 505 mm) of total zooplankton abundance from the Bongo samples. Salps were the second most abundant group comprising 7.92% (333 mm) and 11.99% (505 mm) of total zooplankton abundance. Euphausiids, chaetognaths, polychaetes, pteropods and ostracods occurred more than 1% of total zooplankton. Copepods were not abundant at stations salps and euphausiids were dominant. Salpa thompsoni, Euphausia superba, Calanoides acutus, Metridia gerlachei and Calanus propinquus were dominant depending on the stations. The hierarchical UPGMA cluster analysis of dissimilarities between sampling stations is displayed with clusters identified similar habitats. Copepods rarely appeared in the clusters 4 and 5, and they appeared a few in the cluster 3 (or salps were numerous), while copepods were abundant in the clusters 1 and 2. As in the results of cluster analysis, the distributions of dominant taxa have a well identified correspondence to the geological positions included physical factors.