AMES
type: Concept
in scheme: projects
definition: 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 with…

A - C
type: Concept