Towards a conceptual model of the Weddell Sea ecosystem, Antarctica
1993
Schalk, P.H. | Brey, T. | Bathmann, U. | Arntz, W. | Gerdes, D. | Dieckmann, G. | Ekau, W. | Gradinger, R. | Plotz, J. | Nathig, E. | Schiel, S.B.S. | Siegel, V. | Smetacek, V.S. | Van Franeker, J.A.
An attempt was made to construct a conceptual model of the biomasses at and energy flows through, the various trophic levels and compartments in an Antarctic marine ecosystem, comprising pelagic, benthic, as well as ice habitats. Although many scientific papers concerning the marine environment in the Antarctic have been published, especially in the last decade, there still are major gaps in the present day knowledge of Antarctic marine ecology. Moreover, spatial and temporal variability in both structure and functioning of the food web is considerable and seriously hampers the construction of a general model. As the Southern Ocean spans 11 to 22 percent of the world ocean, depending on its definition, and includes many very different shallow areas and deep basins, the first modelling effort was confined to the Weddell Sea proper as an example of an Antarctic marine ecosystem. The flexibility of Antarctic ecosystems is large and stocks and flows in the various compartments of these systems exhibit great variability. In fact different subsystems can be recognized, both in time and space. The Weddell Sea model presented here is far from complete and gives an indication of the trophic relations between the most important compartments as they are known now. However, a large number of the energy fluxes between the subsystems and compartments remain largely unknown. Gaps in present knowledge are pointed out as areas for future investigations
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