Island Bay Research Articles

Distribution and abundance of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) along the Antarctic Peninsula

Net-based data on the abundance, distribution, and demographic patterns of Antarctic krill are quantified from a contemporaneous two ship survey of the Antarctic Peninsula during austral summer 2011. Two survey areas were sampled focussed on Marguerite Bay in the south, and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula in the north. Data from 177 stations showed that the highest concentrations of krill were found in the southern sampling area. Differences between areas were associated with a few large catches of one year old krill found in anomalously warm and productive waters in Marguerite Bay, and small krill catches in the less-productive, offshore waters in the north. Estimated krill density across the survey area was 3.4krillm−2, and was low compared to the long-term average of 45krillm−2 for the Elephant Island area. Overall recruitment between the two survey regions was similar, but per capita recruitment was about 60% lower than historical mean recruitment levels measured at Elephant Island since the late 1970s. Demographic patterns showed small krill concentrated near the coast, and large krill concentrated offshore on the shelf and slope all along the survey area. The offshore distribution of adult krill was delineated by the warm (∼1°C), low salinity (33.8) water at 30m, suggesting that most krill were present shoreward of the southern boundary of Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front. Distributions of larvae indicated that three hotspot areas were important for the production of krill: slope areas outside Marguerite Bay and north of the South Shetland Islands, and near the coast around Antarctic Sound. Successful spawning, as inferred from larval abundance, was roughly coincident with the shelf break and not with inshore waters. Given the rapid changes in climate along the Antarctic Peninsula and the lower per capita recruitment observed in recent years, studies comparing and contrasting production, growth, and recruitment across the Peninsula will be critical to better understand how climate change will impact krill populations and their dependent predators in the Scotia Sea.

Macrosolen Andamanensis (Loranthaceae): A New Species of Mistletoes from Bay Islands, India

Macrosolen andamanensis L.J.Singh is described and illustrated here as a new species of genus Macrosolen Blume (Loranthaceae) from Bay Island India.

Paleo ice flow and subglacial meltwater dynamics in Pine Island Bay, West Antarctica

Abstract. Increasing evidence for an elaborate subglacial drainage network underneath modern Antarctic ice sheets suggests that basal meltwater has an important influence on ice stream flow. Swath bathymetry surveys from previously glaciated continental margins display morphological features indicative of subglacial meltwater flow in inner shelf areas of some paleo ice stream troughs. Over the last few years several expeditions to the eastern Amundsen Sea embayment (West Antarctica) have investigated the paleo ice streams that extended from the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers. A compilation of high-resolution swath bathymetry data from inner Pine Island Bay reveals details of a rough seabed topography including several deep channels that connect a series of basins. This complex basin and channel network is indicative of meltwater flow beneath the paleo-Pine Island and Thwaites ice streams, along with substantial subglacial water inflow from the east. This meltwater could have enhanced ice flow over the rough bedrock topography. Meltwater features diminish with the onset of linear features north of the basins. Similar features have previously been observed in several other areas, including the Dotson-Getz Trough (western Amundsen Sea embayment) and Marguerite Bay (SW Antarctic Peninsula), suggesting that these features may be widespread around the Antarctic margin and that subglacial meltwater drainage played a major role in past ice-sheet dynamics.

Decline in local abundance of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand

AbstractRegional populations of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) around New Zealand are genetically isolated from each other and the species was recently classified as nationally endangered based on relatively small population sizes and reports of high calf mortality. Here, we estimate the abundance and trends in one of these regional populations, the Bay of Islands, using a photo‐identification database collected from 1997 to 1999 and from 2003 to 2006, containing a total of 3,841 records of 317 individual dolphins. Estimates of abundance obtained with the robust design fluctuated widely but showed a significant decline in the number of dolphins present in the bay over time (7.5% annual rate of decline). Temporary emigration was random and fluctuated considerably (γ = 0.18, SE = 0.07 to γ = 0.84, SE = 0.06). Apparent survival was estimated at 0.928 (CI = 0.911–0.942). Seasonal estimates (26 seasons) obtained in POPAN also showed a significant decline in abundance (5.8% annual rate of decline). Despite the decline observed in local abundance, dolphins continue to be found regularly in the Bay of Islands, suggesting that fewer dolphins use the bay on regular basis. Consequently, it seems that a change in habitat use, mortality and possibly low recruitment could underlie the apparent local decline.

The Relationship Between Water Level, Prey Availability and Reproductive Success in Roseate Spoonbills Foraging in a Seasonally-Flooded Wetland While Nesting in Florida Bay

The coastal wetlands of northeastern Florida Bay are seasonally-inundated dwarf mangrove habitat and serve as a primary foraging ground for wading birds nesting in Florida Bay. A common paradigm in pulse-inundated wetlands is that prey base fishes increase in abundance while the wetland is flooded and then become highly concentrated in deeper water refuges as water levels recede, becoming highly available to wading birds whose nesting success depends on these concentrations. Although widely accepted, the relationship between water levels, prey availability and nesting success has rarely been quantified. I examine this paradigm using Roseate Spoonbills that nest on the islands in northeastern Florida Bay and forage on the mainland. Spoonbill nesting success and water levels on their foraging grounds have been monitored since 1987 and prey base fishes have been systematically sampled at as many as 10 known spoonbill foraging sites since 1990. Results demonstrated that the relationship between water level and prey abundance was not linear but rather there is likely a threshold, or series of thresholds, in water level that result in concentrated prey. Furthermore, the study indicates that spoonbills require water level-induced prey concentrations in order to have enough food available to successfully raise young.

“Nobody Came Down”: The Effect of the Financial Crisis on Tourism in Two Roatán Communities

AbstractThis article examines the effects of the 2008 financial crisis on the tourism sector in the communities of West End and Punta Gorda on the island of Roatán, Islas de La Bahia (Bay Islands), Honduras. This article is based on ethnographic field research conducted in these two communities from April 2011 to April 2012 for a dissertation project. This project is both biocultural and political ecological in nature and utilizes a mixed methods approach incorporating participant observation, semi‐structured interviews that delve into household livelihoods and foodways, and surveys that assess dietary diversity. Overall, the tourism sector on Roatán suffered a drastic setback from June of 2009 until 2010 and has recovered at different rates depending on the particular type of tourism work practiced by the household. Among other things, occupational group has a significant relationship with dietary diversity. From this research I make recommendations to improve income and dietary diversity for households engaged in sectors that have not recovered. This includes adjustments to cruise ship schedules to enable more souvenir and food sales, courses to improve local residents’ marketability in higher paying tourism jobs such as scuba diving instruction, and community gardens to improve access to food and dietary diversity. The primary goal of this article is to spark discussion of the differential effects of the financial crisis on tourist receiving locations through the detailed presentation of one empirical example of these effects.

Distribution of seabirds in the Lower Estuary and Gulf of St Lawrence (Canada) during summer

We investigated the abundance and distribution patterns of a range of seabird species in the Lower Estuary and Gulf of St Lawrence in the western North Atlantic Ocean using ship-based surveys during the summers of 2007, 2008 and 2009. This area is known to be of particular importance for several seabird and cetacean species. We analysed distribution and abundance of common seabird species in mid and late summer, and estimated total numbers for the Southern Gulf, which was most intensively surveyed. Northern Gannets Morus bassanus were overall most abundant and widespread. Our at-sea estimate of 150,000 birds for the Southern Gulf constitutes 64% of the North American breeding population, rendering the site one of the most important areas for this species worldwide during this period. Our at-sea estimates suggest that according to the 1% threshold of the Ramsar Convention considerable proportions of the Canadian breeding population of Razorbills Alca torda (5-11%), Common Guillemots Uria aalge (2-3%), Black-legged Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla (2-4%) and Black Guillemots Cepphus grylle (1-2%) use the Southern Gulf. Relative to their biogeographic populations, at-sea totals were also considerable in American Herring Gulls Larus smithsonianus (3-4%), Great Black-backed Gulls L. marinus (1-4%) and Great Northern Divers Gavia immer (1-4%). Areas of high seabird densities and multispecies aggregations (hotspots) occurred around the Gaspé Peninsula (Northern Gannets, alcids, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Larus gulls), in the Northwestern Gulf, along the Lower North Shore (near St Mary's Islands), along the west coast of Newfoundland (Bay of Islands to St Georges Bay), in Cabot Strait, around Cape Breton Island and the Magdalen Islands, as well as west and east of Prince Edward Island.

Ice sheet record of recent sea‐ice behavior and polynya variability in the Amundsen Sea, West Antarctica

AbstractOur understanding of past sea‐ice variability is limited by the short length of satellite and instrumental records. Proxy records can extend these observations but require further development and validation. We compare methanesulfonic acid (MSA) and chloride (Cl–) concentrations from a new firn core from coastal West Antarctica with satellite‐derived observations of regional sea‐ice concentration (SIC) in the Amundsen Sea (AS) to evaluate spatial and temporal correlations from 2002–2010. The high accumulation rate (~39 g∙cm–2∙yr–1) provides monthly resolved records of MSA and Cl–, allowing detailed investigation of how regional SIC is recorded in the ice‐sheet stratigraphy. Over the period 2002–2010 we find that the ice‐sheet chemistry is significantly correlated with SIC variability within the AS and Pine Island Bay polynyas. Based on this result, we evaluate the use of ice‐core chemistry as a proxy for interannual polynya variability in this region, one of the largest and most persistent polynya areas in Antarctica. MSA concentrations correlate strongly with summer SIC within the polynya regions, consistent with MSA at this site being derived from marine biological productivity during the spring and summer. Cl– concentrations correlate strongly with winter SIC within the polynyas as well as some regions outside the polynyas, consistent with Cl– at this site originating primarily from winter sea‐ice formation. Spatial correlations were generally insignificant outside of the polynya areas, with some notable exceptions. Ice‐core glaciochemical records from this dynamic region thus may provide a proxy for reconstructing AS and Pine Island Bay polynya variability prior to the satellite era.

Carissa Andamanensis (Apocynaceae) - A New Species from Bay Islands, India

Carissa andamanensis L.J. Singh & Murugan is described and illustrated here as a new species from the Bay Islands, India. It is closely allied to C. spinarum L. but differs in vegetative, floral and fruit characters. A brief description along with relevant notes, illustration, photograph is provided here for easy identification and further collection in field.

Conquered from the deep sea? A new deep-sea isopod species from the Antarctic shelf shows pattern of recent colonization.

The Amundsen Sea, Antarctica, is amongst the most rapidly changing environments of the world. Its benthic inhabitants are barely known and the BIOPEARL 2 project was one of the first to biologically explore this region. Collected during this expedition, Macrostylis roaldi sp. nov. is described as the first isopod discovered on the Amundsen-Sea shelf. Amongst many characteristic features, the most obvious characters unique for M. roaldi are the rather short pleotelson and short operculum as well as the trapezoid shape of the pleotelson in adult males. We used DNA barcodes (COI) and additional mitochondrial markers (12S, 16S) to reciprocally illuminate morphological results and nucleotide variability. In contrast to many other deep-sea isopods, this species is common and shows a wide distribution. Its range spreads from Pine Island Bay at inner shelf right to the shelf break and across 1,000 m bathymetrically. Its gene pool is homogenized across space and depth. This is indicative for a genetic bottleneck or a recent colonization history. Our results suggest further that migratory or dispersal capabilities of some species of brooding macrobenthos have been underestimated. This might be relevant for the species’ potential to cope with effects of climate change. To determine where this species could have survived the last glacial period, alternative refuge possibilities are discussed.

A new genus and species of Polynoidae (Annelida, Polychaeta) from Pine Island Bay, Amundsen Sea, Southern Ocean—a region of high taxonomic novelty

We describe a new genus and species of polychaete worm (Polynoidae, Macellicephalinae) from a previously unsampled areaof the Southern Ocean, Pine Island Bay in the Amundsen Sea. Austropolaria n. gen. is differentiated from other genera in thesubfamily Macellicephalinae by a combination of morphological characters such as the number of pharyngeal papillae, bodysegments, elytra, and position of ventral cirrus. The type species of this genus, Austropolaria magnicirrata n. sp., is described based on morphological characters, supplemented by molecular data.

Constraining the deglaciation history in Pine Island Bay, West Antarctica since the Last Glacial Maximum

Constraining the deglaciation history in Pine Island Bay, West Antarctica since the Last Glacial Maximum

Grounding-line retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet from inner Pine Island Bay

Ice loss from the marine-based, potentially unstable West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) contributes to current sea-level rise and may raise sea level by ≤3.3 m or even ≤5 m in the future. Over the past few decades, glaciers draining the WAIS into the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE) have shown accelerated ice flow, rapid thinning, and fast retreat of the grounding line (GL). However, the long-term context of this ice loss is poorly constrained, limiting our ability to accurately predict future WAIS behavior. Here we present a new chronology for WAIS retreat from the inner continental shelf of the eastern ASE, based on radiocarbon dates from three marine sediment cores. The ages document a retreat of the GL to within ∼100 km of its modern position before ca. 10,000 calibrated (cal.) yr B.P. This early deglaciation is consistent with ages for GL retreat from the western ASE. Our new data demonstrate that, in contrast to the Ross Sea, WAIS retreat from the ASE shelf was largely complete by the start of the Holocene. Our results further suggest either slow GL retreat from the inner ASE shelf throughout the Holocene, or that any episodes of fast GL retreat must have been short-lived. Thus, today’s rapid retreat may be exceptional during the Holocene and may originate in recent changes in regional climate, ocean circulation, or ice-sheet dynamics.

Observations of the ophiuroids from the West Antarctic sector of the Southern Ocean

AbstractOphiuroids are a conspicuous and often dominant component of the Antarctic continental shelf benthos. Here we report on the ophiuroids collected from the Burdwood Bank, off the Patagonian Shelf, through the shallow water areas of the Scotia Arc, down the west Antarctic Peninsula and as far south as Pine Island Bay in the eastern Amundsen Sea. This preliminary and primarily pattern based study identifies some regional differences in assemblages and highlights the role of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current as a barrier, as well as a facilitator, to dispersal. In order to effectively compare between studies we highlight the need for accurate, expert taxonomic identification of specimens.

Detrital zircon geochronology and sandstone provenance of basement Waipapa Terrane (Triassic–Cretaceous) and Cretaceous cover rocks (Northland Allochthon and Houhora Complex) in northern North Island, New Zealand

AbstractDetrital zircon U–Pb ages are reported for 14 sandstones of mainly Cretaceous age from the Northland Allochthon, Houhora Complex and Waipapa Terrane of northern North Island, New Zealand. Results from the Waipapa Terrane samples, selected from sequences in the Bay of Plenty, Coromandel Peninsula and Great Barrier Island, show that deposition continued into late Early Cretaceous time and, as in the Torlesse Composite Terrane, finally waned at c. 110–114 Ma. Upper Lower Cretaceous and Upper Cretaceous sedimentary successions in the Houhora Complex and Northland Allochthon have dominant sediment sources derived from local, contemporary volcanism, with a minor older contribution from the Murihiku Terrane to the west. As in eastern North Island, upper Upper Cretaceous sandstones lack major Albian magmatic components and their sources are solely in the Murihiku Terrane, and possibly the Western Province. We propose a Cretaceous palaeogeographic model that invokes a recently extinct orogen and a partially submerged continental borderland, dissected by rivers supplying submarine fans.

Deciphering tectonic phases of the Amundsen Sea Embayment shelf, West Antarctica, from a magnetic anomaly grid

The Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE), with Pine Island Bay (PIB) in the eastern embayment, is a key location to understanding tectonic processes of the Pacific margin of West Antarctica. PIB has for a long time been suggested to contain the crustal boundary between the Thurston Island block and the Marie Byrd Land block. Plate tectonic reconstructions have shown that the initial rifting and breakup of New Zealand from West Antarctica occurred between Chatham Rise and the eastern Marie Byrd Land at the ASE. Recent concepts have discussed the possibility of PIB being the site of one of the eastern branches of the West Antarctic Rift System (WARS). About 30,000km of aeromagnetic data – collected opportunistically by ship-based helicopter flights – and tracks of ship-borne magnetics were recorded over the ASE shelf during two RV Polarstern expeditions in 2006 and 2010. Grid processing, Euler deconvolution and 2D modelling were applied for the analysis of magnetic anomaly patterns, identification of structural lineaments and characterisation of magnetic source bodies. The grid clearly outlines the boundary zone between the inner shelf with outcropping basement rocks and the sedimentary basins of the middle to outer shelf. Distinct zones of anomaly patterns and lineaments can be associated with at least three tectonic phases from (1) magmatic emplacement zones of Cretaceous rifting and breakup (100–85Ma), to (2) a southern distributed plate boundary zone of the Bellingshausen Plate (80–61Ma) and (3) activities of the WARS indicated by NNE–SSW trending lineaments (55–30Ma?). The analysis and interpretation are also used for constraining the directions of some of the flow paths of past grounded ice streams across the shelf.

A Fisherman's Perspective

A Fisherman's Perspective

Alectrias markevichi sp. nov.—A new species of cockscombs (Perciformes: Stichaeidae: Alectriinae) from the sublittoral of the Sea of Japan and adjacent waters

A new species of cockscombs, Alectrias markevichi sp. nov., is described from 46 individuals from the sublittoral of Peter the Great Bay and Moneron Island (the Sea of Japan), South Kuril Strait, southern Hokkaido, and northeastern Honshu (the northwestern Pacific). A. markevichi sp. nov. differs from all the known species of the genus in the presence of only three pores in the occipital commissure (no pores near crest base and no medial tubule), only four pores in the preopercular canal, only one shortened spine at the end of dorsal fin, and 11–18 preural vertebrae with wide neural processes.

A marine diatom record from the Amundsen Sea — Insights into oceanographic and climatic response to the Mid-Pleistocene Transition in the West Antarctic sector of the Southern Ocean

The goal of this study is to assess the changes that have occurred during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, an important transitional period in cryosphere evolution, by examining the siliceous microfossil record of sediments collected proximal to a major ice drainage outlet for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Core PS58/254 was collected from a sediment drift on the upper continental rise in the Amundsen Sea, directly offshore from Pine Island Bay, one of the three main discharge areas for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). Published data on physical properties, geochemical composition, grain size and clay mineral assemblages are complemented here by a high-resolution record (sample spacing 10 cm) of the siliceous microfossil assemblages (diatoms and silicoflagellates). Between 1200 ka and 621 ka, the assemblage is relatively diverse, with Actinocyclus ingens, Thalassiothrix antarctica and Fragilariopsis kerguelensis dominating the assemblages, but diatom abundance is variable from low to barren. Additionally, the occurrence of A. ingens, Thalassiosira elliptipora and Thalassiosira fasciculata is used to confirm and further refine the existing age model and extend it back to 1200 ka. Species composition during the last ca. 621 ka is dominated by F. kerguelensis, which consistently comprises 80-90% of the assemblage. A clear relationship between diatom abundance and glacial/interglacial variability is apparent after 621 ka, which resembles the glacial-interglacial variability previously observed in other proxy data. A significant change in both sediment composition and diatom assemblages is observed at 621 ka. This change concurs with the last abundant occurrence of A. ingens and the end of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT, i.e. the onset of modern eccentricity/precession-paced glacial cycles around 650 ka). We suggest that during interglacial periods after 621 ka the Amundsen Sea Low pressure system shifted seasonally southwestwards towards the shelf and thereby increased the advection of relatively warm Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) onto the Amundsen Sea shelf, which is a major factor for present ice-sheet melting in this part of West Antarctica.

Granitoids and dykes of the Pine Island Bay region, West Antarctica

AbstractWe present geochronological and geochemical data for eight plutonic rocks from five locations in the Pine Island Bay area of West Antarctica, collected during RV Polarstern expedition ANT-XXIII/4. Ar-Ar laser method dating yielded closure temperatures ages of c. 147–98 Ma for dioritic and granitic plutonic rocks and an age range of c. 97–95 Ma for granitoid and trachyandesitic dykes. Major and trace element compositions indicate that all rocks have an I-type subduction-related chemistry. There are no A-type granitic rocks in our dataset, and none are yet reported from the Pine Island Bay area. Our results confirm earlier models of post 100 Ma subduction on this part of the Gondwana margin.