Spatial patterns of demersal fish assemblages during the austral summer in Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands, West Antarctic.

LLOMPART, FACUNDO; DELPIANI, MATÍAS; LATTUCA, EUGENIA; DELPIANI, GABRIELA; CRUZ-JIMENEZ, ADRIANA; ORLANDO, PAULA; VANELLA, FABIÁN; FERNÁNDEZ, DANIEL

ANTARCTIC SCIENCE

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2014

0954-1020

During the research programme carried out by the O/V Puerto Deseado in the austral summers of 2011 and 2013, 36 stations were sampled using a demersal net at depths between 52.8?590 m in the Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands. A total 3378 fish specimens belonging to 36 species were recorded. Notothenidae was the best-represented family in species number, with Lepidonotothen nudifrons, Lepidonotothen larseni and Trematomus scotti being the most numerous species. Of the fish assemblages 20% of the species were considered as dominant, 10% as common, 13% as occasional and 57% as rare. The six groupings (and two sub-groups) obtained by the ordination diagram were based on geographical location and were called: 1) Gerlache Strait, 2) Deception Islands, 3) Biscoe Island, 4) Between Elephant and King George Islands, 5) Northern Antarctic Peninsula, 6) South Shetland Islands, 6a) shallower South Shetland Islands and 6b) deeper South Shetland Islands. The depth of sampling and water temperature significantly explained the spatial pattern. It was found a latitudinal pattern of decreasing abundance from northeast to southwest in L. larseni and the opposite in T. scotti. Given the predictability of fish composition in the assemblages? areas it could be a useful tool for ecosystem-based management. Key