Zooplankton Atlas of the Southern Ocean: The SCAR SO-CPR Survey (1991–2008)

Abstract

The SCAR Southern Ocean Continuous Plankton Recorder (SO-CPR) Survey produces one of the largest and most accessed zooplankton data sets in the world. These data serve as a reference for other Southern Ocean monitoring programmes such as those run by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and the developing Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS). It has been instrumental in providing baseline data on zooplankton composition, communities, and distribution patterns on the ocean basin scale. The SO-CPR Survey is publishing the first detailed geographical atlas of the near-surface Southern Ocean zooplankton. This atlas is based on 22,553 CPR samples collected from 1991 to 2008 from voyages operated by Australia, Japan, Germany, New Zealand, USA and Russia. The Atlas documents the distribution and abundance of the 50 most abundant zooplankton taxa amongst the 200+ taxa sampled. The maps are printed in alphabetical order of the genera within each taxon and nomenclature is based on the Register of Antarctic Marine Species (RAMS) developed by the SCAR Marine Biodiversity Information Network (SCAR-MarBIN). The SO-CPR Atlas will operate as a ready reference to researchers interested in the distribution of zooplankton in the Southern Ocean, for example knowing the distribution of grazers in relation to phytoplankton production or the availability of prey for higher predators.