Seasonal and Mesoscale Variability in the Distribution of Antarctic Krill, Euphausia superba, West of the Antarctic Peninsula
Observations collected between November 1991 and September 1993 during four multidisciplinary cruises were analyzed to provide a description of seasonal and mesoscale variability in the distribution and abundance of Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, within continental shelf waters west of the Antarctic Peninsula and to investigate possible relationships between variability in krill distributions and variability in selected environmental parameters. Acoustic measurements of krill were made each season at designated locations to estimate the abundance of krill, in terms of vertically-integrated krill biomass and the number of aggregations, characterize the depth distribution of krill, and provide a quantitative description of the size, shape, and biomass of individual krill aggregations. The acoustic observations were coupled in time and space to environmental conditions defined by measurements of weather and sea ice parameters, hydrographic structure, concentrations of algal pigments, and net-based density estimates of krill and other zooplankton.
Antarctic krill, Variability, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Marine Biology, Oceanography
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