scholarly journals European initiatives for Antarctic collaboration

1992 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-369
Author(s):  
G. Hempel
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Production Rates ◽  
Ocean Productivity ◽  
Antarctic Marine ◽  
The Future ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Future Management

One year ago, at the Bremerhaven Colloquium, we celebrated the end of BIOMASS. Its primary and inspiring goal had been to reach a “deeper understanding” of the structure and functioning of the Antarctic Marine Ecosystem as a basis for the future management of potential living resources. Fifteen years of intense studies in the Southern Ocean have produced a great wealth of information and some increase in understanding. We are now far more cautious before making sweeping statements on Southern Ocean productivity. We doubt that the question, “How much krill is in the Southern Ocean?” can ever be answered. Instead, we think in terms of regional stocks and of their production rates; we are interested in the fluxes between the compartments of the ecosystem and we consider variability more important than averages and steady rates.

The summer diet of demersal fish at the South Shetland Islands

1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masanori Takahashi ◽  
Tetsuo Iwami
Keyword(s):  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Demersal Fish ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Fish Prey ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Antarctic Marine ◽  
Dietary Component ◽  
Gobionotothen Gibberifrons ◽  
The Antarctic

The stomach contents of demersal fish in late January 1982 were analysed. Samples were taken at 100, 300 and 500 m depth south of Elephant Island, Bransfield Strait and north of Livingston Island, and at 800 m to the east of Smith Island. Fifty four taxa of fish belonging to 11 families were collected. The diets of 2101 fish representing 38 taxa were examined. These were classified into three categories, fish feeders, krill feeders and benthos feeders. Fish prey species fed on krill and/or benthos. Krill was a major dietary component for 32 (84.2%) out of 38 taxa. Gobionotothen gibberifrons was distributed at all 10 stations (100–800 m in depth) and its diet comprised krill and benthos. The present findings verify the importance of krill in the Antarctic marine ecosystem and indicate that krill is consumed by benthic fish at greater depths than previously reported.

Reproductive aspects of female crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophagus) along the Antarctic Peninsula

1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Bengtson ◽  
Donald B. Siniff
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Geographical Differences ◽  
The Past ◽  
Antarctic Marine ◽  
Crabeater Seals ◽  
Lobodon Carcinophagus ◽  
The Antarctic

Examination of a sample of 94 female crabeater seals collected in November, 1977, indicated that, for the past 7 years, the average age at sexual maturity was 3.8 years. Reproductive performance as evidenced by uterine scars and ovarian corpora is discussed. No females inseminated at age 4 or less successfully carried a fetus full term. Timing of ovulation was affected by both age and social category. Younger seals ovulate later in the season than older seals. No females ovulated prior to weaning their pups. Ovulation in experienced females occurred sometimes while still in a mated pair, but mostly at or after dissolution of the pair bond. Comparison of recent age of sexual maturity with earlier reports shows an increase in this age since 1967. This trend may reflect geographical differences or changes in the Antarctic marine ecosystem following a slowdown in Antarctic whaling.

Review—The CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Programme

1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Agnew
Keyword(s):  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Monitoring Programme ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Ecosystem Monitoring ◽  
Ecological Relationships ◽  
Antarctic Marine ◽  
Management Advice ◽  
The Antarctic

The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources states as part of its objective the maintenance of ecological relationships and the prevention of irreversible changes to the ecosystem. The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) has implemented an Ecosystem Monitoring Programme (CEMP) for the Antarctic marine environment to give effect to this requirement. The design phase of the programme took three years. The programme has been fully implemented since 1987 and involves monitoring selected predator, prey and environmental indicators of ecosystem performance. The central aim of the programme is the detection of changes in these indicators and the interpretation as to whether these changes are due to natural events or the harvesting of marine living resources. The core of the programme is the acquisition, centralised storage and analysis of standardised monitoring data combined with a strong emphasis on empirical and modelling based research. This both modifies the monitoring approach in line with changing requirements and creates a sound scientific background against which to test the effects of management options on components of the Antarctic ecosystem. The development of procedures for translating monitoring results into management advice is a critical part of the programme. Management takes the form of the regulation of fishing activities. Since 1987 CEMP has collected data on six bird and seal species at 15 sites around the Antarctic. Up to 14 parameters of predator performance and 10 parameters of prey and environmental performance are collected at each site. The data sets collected by CEMP form an extremely powerful tool for understanding and managing the Antarctic marine ecosystem.

scholarly journals Retreating Shorelines as an Emerging Threat to Adélie Penguins on Inexpressible Island

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 4718
Author(s):  
Xintong Chen ◽  
Jiquan Chen ◽  
Xiao Cheng ◽  
Lizhong Zhu ◽  
Bing Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Aerial Images ◽  
Northern Coast ◽  
Pygoscelis Adeliae ◽  
Antarctic Marine ◽  
Penguin Colony ◽  
Long Term Observation ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Colony Area ◽  
Adélie Penguins

Long-term observation of penguin abundance and distribution may warn of changes in the Antarctic marine ecosystem and provide support for penguin conservation. We conducted an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) survey of the Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colony on Inexpressible Island and obtained aerial images with a resolution of 0.07 m in 2018. We estimated penguin abundance and identified the spatial extent of the penguin colony. A total of 24,497 breeding pairs were found on Inexpressible Island within a colony area of 57,507 m2. Based on historical images, the colony area expanded by 30,613 m2 and abundance increased by 4063 pairs between 1983 and 2012. Between 2012 and 2018 penguin abundance further increased by 3314 pairs, although the colony area decreased by 1903 m2. In general, Adélie penguins bred on Inexpressible Island at an elevation <20 m, and >55% of penguins had territories within 150 m of the shoreline. This suggests that penguins prefer to breed in areas with a low elevation and close to the shoreline. We observed a retreat of the shoreline on Inexpressible Island between 1983 and 2018, especially along the northern coast, which may have played a key role in the expansion of the penguin colony on the northern coast. In sum, it appears that retreating shorelines reshaped penguin distribution on the island and may be an emerging risk factor for penguins. These results highlight the importance of remote sensing techniques for monitoring changes in the Antarctic marine ecosystem and providing reliable data for Antarctic penguin conservation.

scholarly journals The cephalopod prey of the Weddell seal, Leptonychotes weddellii, a biological sampler of the Antarctic marine ecosystem

Polar Biology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 561-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Negri ◽  
G. A. Daneri ◽  
F. Ceia ◽  
R. Vieira ◽  
Y. Cherel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Weddell Seal ◽  
Leptonychotes Weddellii ◽  
Antarctic Marine ◽  
The Antarctic

scholarly journals Nexus and Imbroglio: ccamlr, the Madrid Protocol and Designating Antarctic Marine Protected Areas in the Southern Ocean

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 727-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Cordonnery ◽  
Alan D. Hemmings ◽  
Lorne Kriwoken
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Legal Context ◽  
Antarctic Marine ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
Complicating Factors ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Global Oceans

The paper examines the process and context of international efforts to designate Marine Protected Areas (mpas) in the Southern Ocean. The relationship between the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (camlr Convention) and the Madrid Protocol is examined in relation to legal, political and administrative norms and practices. A contextual overview of the Antarctic mpa system is considered, followed by an analysis of the overlapping competencies of the camlr Commission (ccamlr) and the Madrid Protocol. The Antarctic mpa debate is placed in a wider international legal context of the management of global oceans space in areas beyond national jurisdiction. We provide an analysis of the politico-legal discourse and point to complicating factors within, and external to, the Antarctic system. The concluding section suggests options for breathing new life into the Southern Ocean mpa discourse.

Fishing down the food web of the Antarctic continental shelf and slope

Polar Record ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Ainley ◽  
Daniel Pauly
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Food Web ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Continental Margin ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Euphausia Superba ◽  
The Commons ◽  
By Catch ◽  
The Antarctic

ABSTRACTThe history of biotic exploitation for the continental margin (shelf and slope) of the Antarctic Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) is reviewed, with emphasis on the period from 1970 to 2010. In the Antarctic Peninsula portion, marine mammals were decimated by the 1970s and groundfish by the early 1980s. Fishing for Antarctic krill Euphausia superba began upon the demise of groundfish and now is the only fishing that remains in this region. Surveys show that cetacean and most groundfish stocks remain severely depressed, harvest of which is now prohibited by the International Whaling Commission and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). On the other hand, krill fishing in this region is underway and in recent years has contributed up to 72% of the Southern Ocean catch, depending on fishing conditions and the CCAMLR conservation measures in force. Elsewhere along the Antarctic continental margin, marine mammals were also severely depleted by the 1970s, followed directly by relatively low-level fisheries for krill that continued until the early 1990s. Recently in these areas, where fin-fishing is still allowed, fisheries for Antarctic toothfish Dissostichus mawsoni have been initiated, with one of this fish's main prey, grenadiers Macrourus spp., being taken significantly as by-catch. Continental margin fishing currently accounts for ~25% of the total toothfish catch of the Southern Ocean. Fishing along the Antarctic continental margin, especially the Antarctic Peninsula region, is a clear case of both the tragedy of the commons and ‘fishing down the food web’.

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