H-54 



PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESEARCH PROGRAMME 



2. That a working party be established to plan and execute a research programme on the 

 dynamics of krill swarms- the programme should include routine plankton sampling 

 from exploratory and commercial trawlers at each trawling station, collation of echo 

 traces of krill swarms, and the deployment of drifting sensors in satellite 

 communication; and that liaison be established with the working party co-ordinating 

 underway observations from supply ships so that opportunities for time-series studies 

 at the ice edge and in the pack ice from icebreakers and support ships are fully 

 utilized. 



3. That interest be invited and promoted in the development of a satellite 

 communication drifting buoy assembly for studying the dynamics of krill swarms 

 using sensors to measure zooplankton and phytoplankton biomass in the water 

 column. 



3.3 Shore-based studies 



So far only a few experiments have been successful on krill and other Antarctic plankton 

 organisms in captivity on board research vessels and at shore stations. Basic data on 

 productivity, respiration, growth, and reproduction, should be obtained together with data on 

 rates of filtration, feedmg, digestion, and on metaboUsm under different controlled 

 environmental conditions in tanks and aquaria. Attempts to culture krill experimentally should 

 provide further information on the duration of various life history stages and on the 

 biochemistry and histology of moulting and sexual maturation. Pressure tanks might be needed 

 for the eggs and eariy larvae. Research on enzyme kinetics and microbial activity is needed in 

 conjunction with studies on the energy budget and decomposition processes in large 

 experimental enclosures. 



Recently, considerable experience has been gathered from plankton experiments in various 

 types of inshore and land-based enclosures. Studies in feeding and predation of krill under 

 semi-natural and semi-controlled conditions might bridge the gap between the physiological 

 laboratory studies and field observations. Experiments on shoaling, vertical migration and sonar 

 target responses of marine organisms such as krill in enclosures would be complementary to 

 field studies. 



Year-round studies of the Antarctic fauna and fiora are essential because most species have 

 marked seasonal cycles. The shore stations-although limited in their seagoing facilities-provide 

 opportunities for continuous year-round observations of plankton and benthos in near-shore 

 communities, including their predation by fishes, seabirds, and seals. The great number of 

 experimental studies and their methodological diversity require considerable international and 

 interdisciplinary collaboration in more than one well equipped shore station with easy access to 

 krill stocks. Further information is required on the programmes, technical facilities and 

 manpower of the various stations, in order to launch new internationally co-ordinated 

 programmes as outlined above. 



3.3.1 Role of established shore stations 



The current phase of Antarctic near-shore marine research was initiated during the 

 International Geophysical Year. This near-shore research was made possible by the 

 estabhshment of a number of permanent research stations on the Antarctic continent and on 

 island groups in the Southern Ocean which were manned throughout the year. 



The principal roles of the established coastal stations in the BIOMASS programme are 

 likely to be: to complement and add year-round continuity to the offshore ship-based studies; 

 to analyse samples taken by the research vessels but which can be most successfully studied at 

 the shore stations; and to study organisms which spend parts of their life histories in near-shore 

 waters. 



