The meroplankton community of the northern Ross Sea: a preliminary comparison with the McMurdo Sound region

Abstract

As part of the Latitudinal Gradient Project (LGP) the coastal meroplankton community is being studied along the coast of Victoria Land, in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. In this preliminary analysis the meroplankton community from Cape Hallett (72°S) is compared to that from two previously sampled sites in the south-western Ross Sea; at Cape Roberts and in McMurdo Sound (c. 77°S). Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (MDS), a hierarchical cluster analysis and permutational MANOVA in combination show that the meroplankton composition differs significantly between the three sites. Although this preliminary analysis includes only one northern Ross Sea site, the results suggest that there are differences in meroplankton composition along the Victoria Land coast. Several larval types, including annelid trochophores, unidentified annelid larva, echinospira, barnacle nauplius, asteroid, echinoid, and ophiuroid larvae were absent or rare in the south-western Ross Sea but found abundantly at Cape Hallett. Detailed analysis of the meroplankton community at Cape Hallett and further examination of changes in the meroplankton community along the Victoria Land coast will continue in future years of the LGP.