A - C
AMES
Short Title: Antarctic Marine Ecosystem Studies (AMES) Proposal URL: http://classic.ipy.org/development/eoi/proposal-details.php?id=131 The Southern Ocean marine ecosystem has been exploited commercially for over 200 years, resulting in large shifts in ecosystem structure, as different elements of the marine food web have been intensely exploited. Over the last 25 years the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) has not only managed the currently exploited species but has also taken a global lead in developing ecosystem-based management methods. Now the recognition that polar regions are undergoing substantial climate change heightens the urgency to understand how exploited marine ecosystems can be sustainably managed in an environment that is both extremely variable and changing. In this core program we will study the biomass and production capacity of large marine ecosystems, focusing particularly on the geographic distribution and abundance of Antarctic krill, plankton and nekton, considering a combination of factors such as the interaction between species life cycles, ocean circulation, frontal systems, sea-ice cover, food supply, and concentration of vertebrate predators, such as fish, birds, and marine mammals. We will provide an integrated view of the communities and their functioning within the oceanic ecosystems. This will be done through ecosystem-based surveys to map the biological production at all trophic levels, and by comparing the trophic structure and interactions. Such studies are vital for the development of integrated large-ecosystem models that can be used to manage exploited species in an open ocean pelagic environment. Some component projects will cover large spatial regions such as the Southwest Atlantic at relatively low resolution while others focus on smaller areas to study in more detail the role of key species within the trophic web and consider the effect of seasonality. Key physical processes within the marine ecosystems will be monitored and modelled to establish the physical framework for exploring the variability of the biological production. Objectives: Obtain a synoptic circumpolar assessment of the Antarctic marine pelagic resources, their environment, food supply and their main predators. Major field program activities: - Undertake quasi-synoptic multi-disciplinary hydrographic (CTD) and biological (hydroacousticsand biological sampling) studies from the ice-edge or Antarctic continent northward across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to the Polar Front. These studies will cover key regions of the Southern Ocean and presently include the Southwest and Southeast Atlantic, the Ross and Weddell Seas. - Census the large-scale distribution of predators and determine the interaction with prey. - Determine the Circumpolar demography and population dynamics of key species - Determine interaction of key species with seasonal sea ice in the ice-covered areas of the Weddell and Ross Seas. - Determine seasonal variation in pelagic ecosystem Modelling studies: The results from the field program activities will fill existing gaps in the quantitative experimental data available for input to conceptual ecosystem models (148, 397, 130) to explore the production potential of the systems and the effects of different harvesting regime. Development of such models will form a key part of both this Program and also a key link to the modelling work undertaken within the ICED Program (417). Linkages: The science goals of this Program depend on close integration between physical oceanography (of both continental margin and open ocean environments), biogeochemistry, ecology, sea ice studies and meteorology. In addition to the component projects within the Resources cluster we will also develop cross cluster linkages to ensure full inter-disciplinary integration. The division of IPY EOIs into disciplinary clusters is a necessary but artificial distinction. The science goals of CCAMLR depend on close integration between physical oceanography (of both continental margin and open ocean environments), biogeochemistry, ecology, sea ice studies, meteorology (EoI 16, 83, 109, 193, 417, 577).