Summer gregarine infection in Antarctic krill Euphausia superba in the Dumont D’Urville Sea,East Antarctic

Antarctic krill Euphausia superba plays a key role in the Antarctic food web.The trophic linkage between krill and other macro-organisms has been studied in the past decades,but the variability of parasites in krill is less studied and remains poorly understood.Therefore,it is important to understand the factors that influence abundance and infection of parasites in krill.Moreover,the relationship between the infection intensity of parasite and krill diet needs to be clarified,which is helpful for understanding the role of parasite in the food web.We investigated the abundance of the highly prevalent gregarine parasites in the digestive tract of krill and the factors influencing the gregarine infection to krill in the East Antarctic.The infection rate of Cephaloidophora pacifica Avdeev,1985 to krill(n=50 individuals)was 94%.The results of generalized linear model show the infection intensity of C.pacifica to the host was related significantly to the station,krill size,and maturity stage,but not the food species and abundance in the stomach of krill.Abundance of C.pacifica in krill differed among stations,and the lowest abundance occurred in the station nearest to the coast.Gregarines abundance varied among sexual maturity stages of krill and increased with krill size.

Inferring trophic variation for Antarctic krill(Euphausia superba) in the Antarctic Peninsula from the austral fall to early winter using stable isotope analysis

The Antarctic krill（Euphausia superba） is a key species in the Southern Ocean ecosystem and an important link in the food web of the Antarctic ecosystem. The trophic information for this species during the transition from the austral fall to the winter is important to understand its poorly known overwintering mechanisms. However, the few studies on the topic differ in their results, in terms of both spatial and temporal variables. We investigated the size dependence and monthly and regional variation in δ^（13） C and δ^（15） N values of adult krill in the Antarctic Peninsula, in the austral fall（April to May） and the early winter（June）. We aimed to examine the trophic variations of krill occurred during this period, and the relationship between krill and their feeding environment in the Antarctic marine ecosystem. The following results were obtained：（1） no significant relationship was observed between size and the δ13 C value of krill, but the δ15 N value of krill presented a remarkable association with size;（2）the δ13 C values of krill increased during the austral fall, but no remarkable variation existed at the onset of winter,and the δ15 N values were not significant different during this period;（3） mean δ15 N values of krill differed significantly between the Bransfield Strait and the South Shetland Islands. Our data imply that adult krill present size-, season-, and region-dependent trophic variation during the transition from austral fall to early winter in the Antarctic Peninsula.

Thermal and saline tolerance of Antarctic krill Euphausia superba under controlled in-situ aquarium conditions

As a key species of the Southern Ocean ecosystem,the thermal and saline tolerances of Antarctic krill(Euphausia superb a Dana)are relatively unknown because of the challenging environment and complicated situations needed for observation have inhibited in-situ experiments in the field.Hence,the thermal and saline tolerance of krill were examined under in-situ aquarium conditions with different controlled scenarios.According to the experiments,the critical lethal times of krill were 24h,2h and 0.5h under 9℃,12℃,and 15℃,respectively,and the estimated 50%lethal times were about 17.1 h and 1.7 h under 12℃and 15℃,respectively.Additionally,the critical lethal times(the estimated 50%lethal times)of krill were approximately 14h and 0.5h(about 22.9 h and 1.7 h)of salinity under 19.7 and 15.9,respectively.The observed critical and 50%lethal times of krill were 0.5 h and approximately 1.4 h,respectively,salinity under 55.2.The critical and 50%lethal temperatures of krill were 13℃and approximately 14.2℃,respectively.Additionally,the critical and 50%lethal salinity was 19.6 and approximately 17.5 for the lower saline(below normal oceanic salinity[34.4])environment and 50.3 and approximately 53.2 for the higher saline(above 34.4)environment,respectively.The upper thermal and saline preferences of krill can be considered 6℃and 26.8 to 41.2,respectively.These results can provide potential scenarios for predicting the possible fate of this key species in the Southern Ocean.

Inferring Behavior of Chinese Krill Fishing Vessel Using a Simple Walk Model

Each type of fishery has its own characteristic behavior, and understanding this condition is an important part of devel- oping and managing fishing operations comprehensively. Based on the random walk model, the relationship between distance and frequency distribution of adjacent fishing positions was analyzed by the Commission for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) Subareas 48.1, 48.2, and 48.3. The frequency of distances between consecutive hauls demonstrated a heavy- tailed distribution, which could be used to estimate the value of parameter μ in the power function F(l)~ l μ of a random walk model to determine the type of random walk patterns that characterize Chinese krill fishery. Results indicated that the fishing pattern of the Chinese krill fishery is consistent with the Lévy random walk model, with which the step-length is applied to analyze the walking pattern. When a defined walk in a space of dimension is greater than one, the steps made are in isotropic random directions. Fur- thermore, a strong and positive correlation between fishing behavior (using the parameter μ as an indicator) and catch per unit effort of the Chinese krill fishery was observed.

Upper trophic structure in the Atlantic Patagonian shelf break as inferred from stable isotope analysis

The Patagonian Shelf is a very productive region with dif ferent ecosystem structures. A long history of fishing in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean combined with a complex hydrographic structure, with a permanent front over the shelf-break and dif ferent coastal frontal regions, and a wide non-frontal area in between have made the food web in this area more complex and have resulted in changes to the spatialtemporal scale. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen were used to determine the trophic structure of the Patagonian shelf break which was previously poorly understood. The results indicated that the average δ^(15)N value of pelagic guild(I llex argentinus) was remarkable lower than those of the other guilds. The δ^(13)C values of almost all species ranged from-17‰ to-18‰, but S tromateus brasiliensis had a significant lower δ^(13)C value. Compared with the southern Patagonian shelf, short food chain length also occurred. The impact of complex oceanographic structures has resulted in food web structure change to the temporal-spatial scale on the Patagonian shelf. The Patagonian shelf break can be considered as a separated ecosystem structure with lower δ^(15)N values.