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Impact of climate change on Antarctic krill
Citation
Flores, H and Atkinson, A and Kawaguchi, S and Krafft, BA and Milinevsky, G and Nicol, S and Reiss, C and Tarling, GA and Werner, R and Bravo Rebolledo, E and Cirelli, V and Cuzin-Roudy, J and Fielding, S and Groeneveld, JJ and Haraldsson, M and Lombana, A and Marschoff, E and Meyer, B and Pakhomov, EA and Rombola, E and Schmidt, K and Siegel, V and Teschke, M and Tonkes, H and Toullec, JY and Trathan, PN and Tremblay, N and Van de Putte, AP and van Franeker, JA and Werner, T, Impact of climate change on Antarctic krill, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 458 pp. 1-19. ISSN 0171-8630 (2012) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2012 Inter-Research
Abstract
Antarctic krill Euphausia superba (hereafter
‘krill’) occur in regions undergoing rapid environmental
change, particularly loss of winter sea
ice. During recent years, harvesting of krill has increased, possibly enhancing stress on krill and
Antarctic ecosystems. Here we review the overall
impact of climate change on krill and Antarctic ecosystems,
discuss implications for an ecosystem-based
fisheries management approach and identify critical
knowledge gaps. Sea ice decline, ocean warming
and other environmental stressors act in concert to
modify the abundance, distribution and life cycle of
krill. Although some of these changes can have positive
effects on krill, their cumulative impact is most
likely negative. Recruitment, driven largely by the
winter survival of larval krill, is probably the population
parameter most susceptible to climate change.
Predicting changes to krill populations is urgent,
because they will seriously impact Antarctic eco -
systems. Such predictions, however, are complicated
by an intense inter-annual variability in recruitment
success and krill abundance. To improve the responsiveness
of the ecosystem-based management ap -
proach adopted by the Commission for the Conservation
of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR),
critical knowledge gaps need to be filled. In addition
to a better understanding of the factors influencing
recruitment, management will require a better un -
derstanding of the resilience and the genetic plasticity
of krill life stages, and a quantitative understanding
of under-ice and benthic habitat use. Current
precautionary management measures of CCAMLR
should be maintained until a better understanding of
these processes has been achieved.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | krill, Antarctic, Euphausia superba, climate change, sea ice, ocean acidification, UV radiation, fisheries management, CCAMLR, Southern Ocean |
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Ecology |
| Research Field: | Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) |
| Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
| Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
| Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in the environmental sciences |
| UTAS Author: | Kawaguchi, S (Dr So Kawaguchi) |
| UTAS Author: | Nicol, S (Dr Stephen Nicol) |
| ID Code: | 80292 |
| Year Published: | 2012 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 208 |
| Deposited By: | IMAS Research and Education Centre |
| Deposited On: | 2012-10-26 |
| Last Modified: | 2017-09-06 |
| Downloads: | 6 View Download Statistics |
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