Marine Ecology Progress Series
MEPS is a leading hybrid research journal on all aspects of marine, coastal and estuarine ecology. Priority is given to outstanding research that advances our ecological understanding.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10507
copiedFirst evidence of reproductive success in a southern invader indicates possible community shifts among Arctic zooplankton
- Angelina Kraft
- Eva-Maria Nöthig
- E. Bauerfeind
- David J. Wildish
- Gerhard W. Pohle
- U. V. Bathmann
- Agnieszka Beszczynska-Möller
- Michael Klages
ABSTRACT: Pelagic zooplankton were monitored from 2000 to 2012 at a permanent location near the Svalbard archipelago, at the boundary between the central Arctic Ocean and the Greenland Sea in the eastern Fram Strait. The temporal results reveal the first evidence of successful reproduction in Arctic waters by an Atlantic pelagic crustacean from temperate waters. The Atlantic hyperid amphipod Themisto compressa is shown to have expanded its range from more southerly and warmer waters from 2004 onwards. Successful reproductive activity by T. compressa in Arctic waters was confirmed in 2011, indicated by the presence of a complete temporal series of developmental stages including ovigerous females and recently hatched juveniles. The Arctic amphipod community is currently in transition and a continuing northward spread of southern invaders could cause a biodiversity shift from large Arctic to smaller Atlantic species.
KEYWORDS
Angelina Kraft (Co-author)
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Eva-Maria Nöthig (Co-author)
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
E. Bauerfeind (Co-author)
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
David J. Wildish (Co-author)
- Atlantic Reference Centre, Huntsman Marine Science Centre, 1 Lower Campus Road, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, E5B 2L7, Canada
Gerhard W. Pohle (Co-author)
- Atlantic Reference Centre, Huntsman Marine Science Centre, 1 Lower Campus Road, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, E5B 2L7, Canada
U. V. Bathmann (Co-author)
- Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, Seestrasse 15, 18119 Rostock, Germany
Agnieszka Beszczynska-Möller (Co-author)
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
Michael Klages (Co-author)
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany