Influence of Seasonal Ice Cover on Pelagic and Benthic Communities: Long Time-Series Studies

9727077 SMITH南大洋冰盖的年度扩张和收缩是世界海洋中最大的季节性过程。冰盖的这种季节性变化造成了初级生产的大幅度波动，严重影响了中上层和底栖生物群落。这项研究将利用为在南极使用而开发的长期、自主监测和取样系统，对水柱和海底进行长期的时间序列研究。这项研究将在欺骗岛的福斯特港进行，该岛有代表南极沿海区的中上层和底栖动物群，并有季节性冰盖。将在海底部署一个底部系泊、向上观察的声学仪器，为期一年，以监测水柱中声学可探测的大型浮游动物和微型浮游动物的垂直分布、丰度和生物量。在此期间，将使用新开发的垂直剖面泵取样进行收集。与此同时，将在海底停泊一个延时摄影系统，以监测底栖生物群落中的表层底栖巨型动物的空间分布、大小和移动。仪器的开发将使研究项目能够重点关注季节性海冰周期对水柱中大型浮游动物和微型浮游动物的分布、丰度和生物量的影响。还将讨论关于海底巨型动物的分布、丰度、大小和移动的类似问题。这项研究的结果将为评估南大洋中上层和底栖生物群落对季节性变化的反应提供宝贵的数据基础。

9727077 SMITH The annual expansion and contraction of ice cover in the Southern Ocean is the largest seasonal process in the World Ocean. This seasonal variability in ice cover creates extensive fluctuations in primary production, which heavily impacts pelagic and benthic communities. This research will initiate a long time-series study of the water column and sea floor using long-term, autonomous monitoring and sampling systems developed for use in the Antarctic. The study will be located in Post Foster, Deception Island, which supports a pelagic and benthic fauna representative of the Antarctic coastal zone and experiences seasonal ice cover. A bottom-moored, upward-looking acoustic instrument will be deployed on the sea floor for a period of one year to monitor the vertical distribution, abundance and biomass of acoustically-detectable macrozooplankton and micronekton in the water column. Collections will be made over this period using a newly-developed vertically-profiling pump sampling. Simultaneously, a time-lapse camera system will be moored on the sea floor to monitor the spatial distribution, sizes and movements of the epibenthic megafauna component of the benthic community. The instrumentation development will allow the research project to focus on the effect of the seasonal sea ice cycle on the distribution, abundance and biomass of the macrozooplankton and micronekton in the water column. Similar questions on the distribution, abundance, size and movements of the epibenthic megafauna will be addressed. Results from this study will provide a valuable data base for the evaluation of the pelagic and benthic community responses to seasonal variability in the Southern Ocean.