Penguin tissue as a proxy for relative krill abundance in East Antarctica during the Holocene.
Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is a key component of the Southern Ocean food web. It supports a large number of upper trophic-level predators, and is also a major fishery resource. Understanding changes in krill abundance has long been a priority for research and conservation in the Southern Ocean. In this study, we performed stable isotope analyses on ancient Adélie penguin tissues and inferred relative krill abundance during the Holocene epoch from paleodiets of Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae), using inverse of δ¹⁵N (ratio of ¹⁵N/¹⁴N) value as a proxy. We find that variations in krill abundance during the Holocene are in accord with episodes of regional climate changes, showing greater krill abundance in cold periods. Moreover, the low δ¹⁵N values found in modern Adélie penguins indicate relatively high krill availability, which supports the hypothesis of krill surplus in modern ages due to recent hunt for krill-eating seals and whales by humans.
1] Institute of Polar Environment, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China [2].
Tao
T
Huang
Liguang
L
Sun
Nanye
N
Long
Yuhong
Y
Wang
Wen
W
Huang
D000818:Animals; D000864:Antarctic Regions; D044822:Biodiversity; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D033201:Euphausiacea / Q000254:growth & development*; D005241:Feathers; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D007553:Isotope Labeling; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D009928:Organ Specificity; D046429:Spheniscidae / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors
D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes