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The fate of primary production in Antarctic sea ice: the role of metazoan grazers.

Entry ID: ASAC_1328

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Summary

Abstract: Crustaceans are an important component of the Antarctic marine ecosystem. Large numbers live in or close to the sea-ice cover, using it as a refuge from predation and a source of food. However, the impact of these animals on algae that grows in the sea ice is unknown. This study is examining the diets and grazing rates of crustaceans in the Antarctic sea-ice ecosystem. These results will aid our ... understanding of the fate of algal production in sea-ice and will enable the construction of realistic carbon budgets for this ecosystem.

This project was commenced in July 2002. A five-week voyage was undertaken on the RV Aurora Australis in October and November 2002, in the vicinity of the Mertz Glacier. Pack ice cores and sub-ice water samples were collected from 8 locations, with 3 to 5 samples of each type collected per site. The cores were sectioned in the field, melted and treated for further analysis. All samples were either preserved or frozen, depending on future requirements, and returned to Australia. Sea ice cores were processed for a range of analyses including microscopy, lipid class and fatty acid determination and stable isotope analysis. A physical description of the pack ice environment (ice type, ice thickness, snow cover, temperature profiles, salinity profiles) was also compiled.

A second sampling of the pack ice occurred in Sept-Oct 2003. To date, the salinity and temperature profiles of the pack ice cores have been described and a database compiled of the physical description of the region. A large number of samples (10 sites; 5 ice/water/animal samples per site) was collected and analysis has begun of stable isotopic signatures, fatty acids, chlorophyll a and species identifications. Crustaceans have been sorted under the microscope and initial descriptions of gut contents begun.

The third successful sampling trip was to the fast ice surrounding Davis Station during the 2003/04 summer. Two sites were sampled regularly, with a full suite of analyses undertaken. This will provide a temporal component to the project to complement the spatial approach used in the pack ice. Analysis of the fast ice samples is ongoing.

Two more sampling trips were carried out during the 2004/05 season. The first in the pack ice offshore from Casey and the second in the fast ice at Casey. The same suite of analyses as listed above was carried out and analyses are ongoing.

The download file contains five excel spreadsheets, as well as a word document which further explains data collection.

Related URL

Link: GET DATA

Description: Download point for the data

Geographic Coverage

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Spatial coordinates

N: -63.89

S: -68.84

E: 148.07

W: 78.8

Data Set Citation

Dataset Release Date: 2012-12-20

Temporal Coverage

Start Date: 2002-10-29

Stop Date: 2005-02-28

Location Keywords

OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN

CONTINENT > ANTARCTICA

CONTINENT > ANTARCTICA > DAVIS

GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR

Science Keywords

OCEANS > SEA ICE > PACK ICE

OCEANS > SEA ICE

ISO Topic Category

BIOTA

OCEANS

Platform

FIELD SURVEYS

SHIPS

FIELD INVESTIGATION

R/V AA > R/V Aurora Australis

Instrument

ICE AUGERS

PLANKTON NETS

Project

EASIZ > Ecology of the Antarctic Sea Ice Zone

Quality See the download file for more information.

Access Constraints These data are publicly available for download from the provided URL.

Use Constraints This data set conforms to the PICCCBY Attribution License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

Please follow instructions listed in the citation reference provided at http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/citation.cfm?entry_id=ASAC_1328 when using these data.

Ancillary Keywords

CHLOROPHYLL

CRUSTACEANS

Data Set Progress

COMPLETE

Originating Center

Australian Antarctic Division

Data Center

Australian Antarctic Data Centre, Australia

Data Center URL: http://data.aad.gov.au

Data Center Personnel
Name: DATA OFFICER AADC Phone: +61 3 6232 3244 Fax: +61 3 6232 3351 Email: metadata at aad.gov.au Contact Address: Australian Antarctic Division 203 Channel Highway City: Kingston Province or State: Tasmania Postal Code: 7050 Country: Australia

Distribution

Distribution Media: HTTP

Distribution Size: 159 kb

Distribution Format: Excel, Word

Fees: Free

Personnel

KERRIE SWADLING

Role: INVESTIGATOR

Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT

Role: DIF AUTHOR

Phone: +61 3 6226 2522

Fax: +61 3 6226 2745

Email: k.swadling at utas.edu.au

Contact Address:

School of Zoology

University of Tasmania

GPO BOX 252-05

City: Hobart

Province or State: Tasmania

Postal Code: 7001

Country: Australia

Extended Metadata Properties

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Creation and Review Dates

DIF Creation Date: 2001-04-09

Last DIF Revision Date: 2012-12-20

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