Shifts in sea ice are affecting the WAP ecosystem and biogeochemistry. Despite dramatic shifts in Antarctic food webs, the number of the keystone krill species (Euphausia superba) has not changed significantly over the PAL LTER study area. However, researchers have observed reduced juvenile recruitment following positive anomalies of the Southern Annular Mode. North of PAL LTER, E. superba population centers in the southwest Atlantic sector have been contracting southward for the past 90 years.
For Further Reading:
Schofield, O et al. 2018. Changes in upper ocean mixed layer and phytoplankton productivity along the West Antarctic Peninsula. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. doi 10.1098/ rsta.2017.0173
Bowman, JS et al. 2018. Recurrent seascape units identify key ecological processes along the western Antarctic Peninsula. Global Change Biology. doi: 10.1111/gcb.14161
Montes-Hugo, M et al. 2009. Recent changes in phytoplankton communities associated with rapid regional climate change along the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Science. doi: 10.1126/science.1164533
Sailley, S et al. 2013. Carbon fluxes and pelagic ecosystem dynam¬ics around the West Antarctic Peninsula Adélie penguin colonies: An inverse model analysis. Marine Ecology Progress Series. doi: 10.3354/ MEPS10534
Steinberg, DM et al. 2015. Long-term (1993-2013) changes in macrozooplankton off the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Deep Sea Research II. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2015.02.009
Saba, GK et al. 2014. Winter and spring controls on the summer food web of the coastal West Antarctic Peninsula. Nature Communications. doi: 10.1038/ncomms5318
