Francis Charles Fraser, 16 June 1903 - 21 October 1978

Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society ◽

10.1098/rsbm.1979.0010 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 25 ◽

pp. 287-317

Keyword(s):

Natural History ◽

Southern Ocean ◽

British Museum ◽

Euphausia Superba ◽

Main Task ◽

Baleen Whales ◽

Life And Death ◽

Personal Qualities

Francis Charles Fraser, internationally respected as a leading authority on whales, dolphins and porpoises, spent most of his career (1933-69) in the British Museum (Natural History). His introduction to cetology could not have been better. From 1925 to 1933 he was a zoologist on ‘ Discovery Investigations’, charged with the main task of studying the life and death of whales in relation to their physical and biological surroundings in the Southern Ocean. Fraser’s Discovery research, as will be seen, was considerably more than that represented in his definitive study on the development of krill ( Euphausia superba ), the food of the large baleen whales. His publications from the Museum were almost entirely concerned with cetaceans. That he was able to pursue this research, despite the heavy and increasing demands of museum and other duties, was due to his adroitness as an organizer and the disciplined way he divided his time. There was also his determination, which matched his sturdy figure. His personal qualities will emerge as this memoir proceeds. But it is right now to say that many remember him with affection and miss the warmth of his company.

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Seals and whales of the Southern Ocean

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.1977.0073 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 279 (963) ◽

pp. 81-96 ◽

Cited By ~ 177

Keyword(s):

Southern Ocean ◽

Marine Mammals ◽

Deep Ocean ◽

Euphausia Superba ◽

The Body ◽

The Arctic ◽

Individual Species ◽

Baleen Whales ◽

Fur Seals ◽

The Antarctic

There are fewer species of marine mammals in the Antarctic than in the Arctic, probably because of the wide deep ocean with no geographical barriers to promote speciation. The stocks are substantially larger in the Antarctic and the body sizes of individual species are larger, probably owing to a more abundant food supply. Seasonal changes in the environment in the Southern Ocean are marked and food available to baleen whales is very much greater in summer. Ecological interactions of the consumers, principally in relation to krill Euphausia superba , are discussed and attention drawn to some of the ways in which ecological separation is achieved, both within and between species. Estimates of abundances, biomasses and food requirements are given for the seals and large whales. The original numbers of whales in the Antarctic were far greater than in other oceans, but the stocks have been severely reduced by whaling. This may have increased the availability of krill to other consumers by as much as 150 million tonnes annually. Increased growth rates, earlier maturity and higher pregnancy rates have been demonstrated for baleen whale species, and earlier maturity for the crabeater seal. While it has not been possible to demonstrate increases in the populations of any of these species, the stocks of fur seals and penguins have been monitored and show significant population increases. A key question is whether the original balance of this ecosystem can be regained with appropriate management.

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Potential Impact of Carbonate Chemistry Change (<i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>) on Krill and Krill-based Food chain in the Southern Ocean with emphasis on Embryogenesis of Antarctic krill

10.5194/bg-2017-207 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Robert Y. George

Keyword(s):

Southern Ocean ◽

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Antarctic Krill ◽

Ross Sea ◽

Direct Consequence ◽

Euphausia Superba ◽

Western Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Egg Development ◽

Baleen Whales ◽

Thermal Change

Abstract. In the Southern Ocean, it is still not certain that overall krill biomass may decline because of drastic increase in pCO2, and consequent decline in pH. However, there is evidence that ecological vacuums created by krill population collapses caused by ecosystem shifts in Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) region led to replacement of Antarctic krill Euphausia superba by soft-bodied salps Salpa thomsoni. There is yet another questionable hypothesis that by the end of 21st century, ocean acidification stress, coupled with thermal increase, may synergistically induce physiologically critical stress to Antarctic krill in some areas of the Southern Ocean, egg development of krill may drastically decrease and in the 23rd century krill may even become extinct. I have earlier reported on normal krill egg development in relation to thermal change and high pressure (George and Stromberg, 1985). Recent experiments on krill development under different pCO2 conditions by Kawaguchi et al. (2011, 2013) suggest that we may witness 20 to 70 % reduction in Antarctic Krill by 2100 as direct consequence of pH decline. Such a scenario may lead to demise of krill-eating top-predators like baleen whales, seals and different species of Antarctic penguin populations. We now know that Adelaide penguins are decreasing in Bransfield Strait region off of the Western Antarctic Peninsula but increasing in Ross Sea region. Such a shift in breeding colonies moving from northern to southern WAP region and Ross Sea areas is not attributed to any decline in krill biomass but recent decadal melting of sea-ice as documented by remote sensing (George and Hayden, 2017). In this paper the main focus revolves around implications of changing chemistry of the Southern Ocean caused by absorption of anthropogenic carbon dioxide.

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A Taxonomic Appraisal of the two species of Stygiomedusa [Coelenterata, Scyphozoa], with the First Southern Ocean Records

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s002531540005880x ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 53 (3) ◽

pp. 609-613 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

P. F. S. Cornelius

Keyword(s):

Natural History ◽

Southern Ocean ◽

British Museum ◽

The Tropics ◽

Zoology Department

Three specimens of Stygiomedusa fabulosa Russell, 1959, identified recently in the collections of the Zoology Department of the British Museum (Natural History) (Table 1) extend the recorded distribution of this infrequently collected genus to the Southern Ocean, and provide the opportunity of assessing the specific distinctness of S. stauchi Repelin, 1967. The specimens are the first of either species recorded from south of the tropics.

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