scholarly journals Visual Imaging of Benthic Carbonate-Mixed Factories in the Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area, Antarctica

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 833
Author(s):  
Giorgio Castellan ◽  
Lorenzo Angeletti ◽  
Simonepietro Canese ◽  
Claudio Mazzoli ◽  
Paolo Montagna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Area ◽  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Coralline Algae ◽  
Benthic Organisms ◽  
Remotely Operated Vehicle ◽  
Terra Nova Bay ◽  
Visual Imaging ◽  
Ca Carbonate

Marine biogenic skeletal production is the prevalent source of Ca-carbonate in today’s Antarctic seas. Most information, however, derives from the post-mortem legacy of calcifying organisms. Prior imagery and evaluation of Antarctic habitats hosting calcifying benthic organisms are poorly present in the literature, therefore, a Remotely Operated Vehicle survey was carried out in the Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area during the 2013–2014 austral summer. Two video surveys of the seafloor were conducted along transects between 30 and 120 m (Adelie Cove) and 230 and 260 m (Terra Nova Bay “Canyon”), respectively. We quantified the relative abundance of calcifiers vs non-calcifiers in the macro- and mega-epibenthos. Furthermore, we considered the typology of the carbonate polymorphs represented by the skeletonized organisms. The combined evidence from the two sites reveals the widespread existence of carbonate-mixed factories in the area, with an overwhelming abundance of both low-Mg and (especially) high-Mg calcite calcifiers. Echinoids, serpulids, bryozoans, pectinid bivalves and octocorals prove to be the most abundant animal producers in terms of abundance. The shallower Adelie Cove site also showed evidence of seabed coverage by coralline algae. Our results will help in refining paleoenvironmental analyses since many of the megabenthic calcifiers occur in the Quaternary record of Antarctica. We set a baseline to monitor the future response of these polar biota in a rapidly changing ocean.

MPAs in the Southern Ocean under CCAMLR

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-107
Author(s):  
Karen N. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Antarctic Marine ◽  
National Jurisdiction

Abstract In 2016, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) designated the largest marine protected area (MPA) in the Ross Sea. Hailed as both a precedent and a prototype for MPAs in both Antarctica and in areas beyond national jurisdiction more generally, it is nevertheless proving challenging to implement. Moreover, further MPAs have yet to be designated in the region although a number are under negotiation. This article will evaluate the contribution made by CCAMLR to the implementation of SDG 14.5 (the conservation of at least 20 per cent of marine and coastal areas by 2020), its relationship to area-based protection under the 1991 Environmental Protocol, and highlight the challenges of establishing MPAs beyond the jurisdiction of states.

scholarly journals Non-indigenous macroalgal species in coralligenous habitats of the Marine Protected Area Isole Ciclopi (Sicily, Italy)

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 31-44
Author(s):  
Luca Giuseppe Costanzo ◽  
Giuliana Marletta ◽  
Giuseppina Alongi
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Present Report ◽  
Eastern Coast ◽  
Remotely Operated Vehicle ◽  
High Coverage ◽  
The Mediterranean

Biological invasions are considered one of the main threats for biodiversity. In the last decades, more than 60 macroalgae have been introduced in the Mediterranean Sea, causing serious problems in coastal areas. Nevertheless, the impacts of alien macroalgae in deep subtidal systems have been poorly studied, especially in the coralligenous habitats of the eastern coast of Sicily (Italy). Therefore, within the framework of the programme “Progetto Operativo di Monitoraggio (P.O.M.)” of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the aim of the present study was to gain knowledge on the alien macroalgae present in coralligenous habitats of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Isole Ciclopi, along the Ionian coast of Sicily. By Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) videos and destructive samples analysed in the laboratory, five alien species were identified: Caulerpa cylindracea, Antithamnion amphigeneum, Asparagopsis armata, Bonnemaisonia hamifera, and Lophocladia lallemandii. Since A. amphigeneum was previously reported only in the western Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea, the present report represents the first record of this species in the eastern Mediterranean. The ROV surveys showed that the alien species do not have a high coverage and do not appear to be invasive in the coralligenous area of the MPA. Since ocean temperatures are predicted to increase as climate change continues and alien species are favoured by warming of the Mediterranean Sea, the risk of biotic homogenisation caused by the spread of alien species is realistic. Therefore, further studies are needed to assess the incidence and invasiveness of alien species in phytobenthic assemblages of coralligenous in the MPA.

Swimming in the Antarctic scallop Adamussium colbecki: analysis of in situ video recordings

1998 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan D. Ansell ◽  
Riccardo Cattaneo-Vietti ◽  
Mariachiara Chiantore
Keyword(s):  
Ross Sea ◽  
Maximum Velocity ◽  
Remotely Operated Vehicle ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Terra Nova Bay ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Swimming Trajectories ◽  
Opening And Closing ◽  
The Antarctic

Swimming activity of the Antarctic scallop at a temperature of c. −1.4°C was analysed using in situ video recordings obtained from a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea. Data are presented on swimming trajectories, distance travelled and velocity during a swimming bout, adduction frequency, shell gape angle, and the angular opening and closing velocities of shell. This scallop is an effective swimmer although swimming bouts in response to the ROV were generally short, consisting of 2–5 adduction cycles in the take-off phase followed by 1–4 (exceptionally 14) adductions during level swimming. The maximum velocity during each adduction cycle ranged from 19.4–43.1 cm s−1 and the mean velocity during a swimming bout from 12.0–23.5 cm s−1. Each adduction cycle consists of opening, closing and glide phases of approximately equal duration. Adduction frequency during swimming averaged 1.5 adductions s−1.

scholarly journals Regulation of Microbial Activity Rates by Organic Matter in the Ross Sea during the Austral Summer 2017

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1273
Author(s):  
Renata Zaccone ◽  
Cristina Misic ◽  
Filippo Azzaro ◽  
Maurizio Azzaro ◽  
Giovanna Maimone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Offshore Area ◽  
Terra Nova Bay ◽  
Prokaryotic Abundance ◽  
Microbiological Parameters ◽  
Terra Nova ◽  
The Antarctic

The active prokaryotic communities proliferate in the ecosystems of the Antarctic Ocean, participating in biogeochemical cycles and supporting higher trophic levels. They are regulated by several environmental and ecological forcing, such as the characteristics of the water masses subjected to global warming and particulate organic matter (POM). During summer 2017, two polynyas in the Ross Sea were studied to evaluate key-microbiological parameters (the proteasic, glucosidasic, and phosphatasic activities, the microbial respiratory rates, the prokaryotic abundance and biomass) in relation to quantitative and qualitative characteristics of POM. Results showed significant differences in the epipelagic layer between two macro-areas (Terra Nova Bay and Ross Sea offshore area). Proteins and carbohydrates were metabolized rapidly in the offshore area (as shown by turnover times), due to high enzymatic activities in this zone, indicating fresh and labile organic compounds. The lower quality of POM in Terra Nova Bay, as shown by the higher refractory fraction, led to an increase in the turnover times of proteins and carbohydrates. Salinity was the physical constraint that played a major role in the distribution of POM and microbial activities in both areas.

Monitoring Antarctic toothfish in McMurdo Sound to evaluate the Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 195-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.J. Parker ◽  
S. Mormede ◽  
S.M. Hanchet ◽  
A. Devries ◽  
S. Canese ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Area ◽  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Size Composition ◽  
Antarctic Toothfish ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound ◽  
Weddell Seals ◽  
Ecological Relationships ◽  
Dissostichus Mawsoni ◽  
Northern Areas

AbstractWe developed a random, stratified, vertical longline survey in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, to compare the local age and size composition, diet and reproductive status of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) with those observed from a vessel-based survey of the southern Ross Sea shelf that includes a McMurdo Sound stratum. Results indicated that southern McMurdo Sound toothfish were larger and older than those a short distance away in northern McMurdo Sound. These data, in addition to recoveries of tagged fish, suggest that the large toothfish in McMurdo Sound may have limited mixing with the rest of the population. The potential effects of climate change and fishing in northern areas on toothfish abundance in McMurdo Sound will depend on the mechanism of toothfish recruitment to McMurdo Sound. Understanding the ecological relationships between McMurdo Sound toothfish and the larger population is required to predict these impacts. Furthermore, because toothfish predators (type C killer whalesOrcinus orca, Weddell sealsLeptonychotes weddellii) are abundant in the south-west margins of the Ross Sea, it is important to monitor toothfish in McMurdo Sound as part of the monitoring programme for the Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area.

Diatoms and dinoflagellates in Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea-Antarctica) during austral summer 1990

Polar Biology ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Andreoli ◽  
Claudio Tolomio ◽  
Isabella Moro ◽  
Marco Radice ◽  
Emanuela Moschin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ross Sea ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Terra Nova Bay ◽  
Terra Nova
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document