Winter and spring controls on the summer food web of the coastal West Antarctic Peninsula

Grace K. Saba (), William R. Fraser, Vincent S. Saba, Richard A. Iannuzzi, Kaycee E. Coleman, Scott C. Doney, Hugh W. Ducklow, Douglas G. Martinson, Travis N. Miles, Donna L. Patterson-Fraser, Sharon E. Stammerjohn, Deborah K. Steinberg and Oscar M. Schofield
Additional contact information
Grace K. Saba: Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 71 Dudley Road
William R. Fraser: Polar Oceans Research Group, PO Box 368
Vincent S. Saba: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, c/o Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, 201 Forrestal Road, Princeton University Forrestal Campus
Richard A. Iannuzzi: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, PO Box 1000, 61 Route 9W
Kaycee E. Coleman: Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 71 Dudley Road
Scott C. Doney: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road
Hugh W. Ducklow: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, PO Box 1000, 61 Route 9W
Douglas G. Martinson: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, PO Box 1000, 61 Route 9W
Travis N. Miles: Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 71 Dudley Road
Donna L. Patterson-Fraser: Polar Oceans Research Group, PO Box 368
Sharon E. Stammerjohn: University of California, 1156 High Street
Deborah K. Steinberg: Virginia Institute of Marine Science, PO Box 1346
Oscar M. Schofield: Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 71 Dudley Road

Nature Communications, 2014, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Understanding the mechanisms by which climate variability affects multiple trophic levels in food webs is essential for determining ecosystem responses to climate change. Here we use over two decades of data collected by the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research program (PAL-LTER) to determine how large-scale climate and local physical forcing affect phytoplankton, zooplankton and an apex predator along the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). We show that positive anomalies in chlorophyll-a (chl-a) at Palmer Station, occurring every 4–6 years, are constrained by physical processes in the preceding winter/spring and a negative phase of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). Favorable conditions for phytoplankton included increased winter ice extent and duration, reduced spring/summer winds, and increased water column stability via enhanced salinity-driven density gradients. Years of positive chl-a anomalies are associated with the initiation of a robust krill cohort the following summer, which is evident in Adélie penguin diets, thus demonstrating tight trophic coupling. Projected climate change in this region may have a significant, negative impact on phytoplankton biomass, krill recruitment and upper trophic level predators in this coastal Antarctic ecosystem.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5318

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