Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data for a range of benthic invertebrates, macroalgae, phytoplankton, sea ice algae and fish from shallow marine coastal region around Davis Station. Part of the TRENZ program (The TRophic Ecology of the antarctic Nearshore Zone: local and global constraints on patterns and processes), and AAS project 2948.

Zooplankton were collected during the winter-spring transition during two cruises of the Aurora Australis: SIPEX in 2007 and SIPEX II in 2012. As part of the collections sea ice cores were collected to describe the ice habitat during the period of zooplankton collections. Ice cores were taken with a 20 cm diameter SIPRE corer and sectioned in the field with an ice core. Particulate organic matter (POM) and animals from the zooplankton (water column) and the sea ice cover (meiofauna) were processed for stable isotopes - delta 13 Carbon and delta 15 Nitrogen.

Data shows carbon and nitrogen stable isotope concentration in siphon tissue of laternula elliptica from three sites adjacent to Casey Station. McGrady Cove, Brown Bay Inner and Shannon Bay. All shellfish were collected by divers during the 2014/15 summer season. Samples were sent to Cornell University Stable Isotope laboratory for analysis.

Mesopelagic fish gut content data from the Kerguelen Axis ecosystem study (AAS_4344): These data are based on samples collected as part of the Kerguelen Axis marine ecosystem study (AAS_4344), chief scientist Andrew Constable. This research was supported by the Australian government under the (i) Cooperative Research Centre Program through the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC), (ii) Australian Antarctic Science Program (Projects 4343, 4344, 4347 and 4366), and (iii) Australian Research Council’s Special Research Initiative for Antarctic Gateway Partnership (Project ID SR140300001). The preferred citation is: Riaz, J., Walters, A., Trebilco, R., Bestley, S., Lea, M-A. (2019) Stomach content analysis of mesopelagic fish from the southern Kerguelen Axis. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography. Samples for gut content analysis were collected on board the R.S.V Aurora Australis during the austral summer of 2016 (22 January-17 February) during the Kerguelen Axis marine ecosystem survey (AAS_4344). Analyses focused on four of the most common and widespread Southern Ocean mesopelagic fish species: three myctophids (Electrona antarctica, Gymnoscopelus braueri, Krefftichthys anderssoni), and one bathylagid (Bathylagus antarcticus). Species were sampled across a broad range of size classes to investigate the influence of predator size on predator and prey size relationships. Fish were collected from six sampling stations along the major south-to-north transect of the Kerguelen Axis. Three sampling sites were located in subpolar waters south of the Southern Boundary (SB) of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) over the Princess Elizabeth Trough. The other three sampling sites were located north of the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Circulation Front (SACCF) over the Banzare Bank on the southern Kerguelen Plateau.The contribution and relative importance of prey taxa to stomach contents was quantified with four traditional metrics of dietary composition (Hyslop 1980). These were calculated for each fish species separately at northern and southern sampling stations, and across species within all stations. Hyslop, E. J. (1980) Stomach contents analysis-a review of methods and their application. Journal of Fish Biology 17:411.

This dataset contains results from the Second International BIOMASS Experiment II (SIBEX II) cruise of the Nella Dan, January 1985. This cruise is the fourth cruise out of a series of six, investigating the distribution, abundance and population structure of krill Euphausia superba in the Prydz Bay region, Antarctica. SIBEX II was co-ordinated with South Africa, Japan and France, and 66 grid sampling stations covered an area from 58 degrees to 93 degrees East and from 60 degrees South to the Antarctic coast. At each sampling station, surveys of krill and other zooplankton were taken, as well as a CTD cast and water collection for phytoplankton pigment, nutrients and primary production measurement. Species identity and abundance data were obtained. The major species investigated were Euphausia superba, Euphausia frigidia, Euphausia crystallorophias and Thysanoessa marcuria. Other pteropods and cephalopods were also studied, as well as results from hydroacoustic surveys of krill biomass. Summary results are listed in the documentation. The fields in this dataset are: species Station Number Haul Type RMT Biomass Weight Flowmeter Latitude Longitude Time Date Ice Sea State Density Sea Floor Maturity This dataset was updated by Angela McGaffin. This download file also contains the original dataset provided in 2007. There are four files available: SIBEX_II_krill.xls (original file) sibex2_krill_morphometrics.xslx sibex2_station_data.xslx sibex2_zooplankton_corrected.xls A minor data update took place on 202211-03 to add a scanned copy of the original acoustics log.

Sediment cores were collected from the East Antarctic margin, aboard the Australian Marine National Facility R/V Investigator from January 14th to March 5th 2017 (IN2017_V01; (Armand et al., 2018). This marine geoscience expedition, named the “Sabrina Sea Floor Survey”, focused notably on studying the interactions of the Totten Glacier with the Southern Ocean through multiple glacial cycles. The cores were collected using a multi-corer (MC) and a Kasten corer (KC). The MC were sliced every centimetre, wrapped up in plastic bags, and stored in the fridge. The KC was sub-sampled using a u-channel; and sliced every centimetre once back the home laboratory (IMAS, UTAS, Hobart, Australia). This dataset presents stable isotopes measured in total and fumigated (i.e. organic) sediment samples collected during the IN2017_V01 voyage. The data include the sampling date (day/month/year), the latitude and longitude (in decimal degrees), the seafloor depth (in meter), the sediment core ID, the sediment depth (in cm), the elemental concentration (in %) and the stable isotope (13C, 15N and 34S) compositions reported as delta values (in ‰). This dataset presents stable isotopes measured in fumigated (i.e. organic) sediment samples collected during the IN2017_V01 voyage. The data include the sampling date (day/month/year), the latitude and longitude (in decimal degrees), the seafloor depth (in meter), the sediment core ID, the sediment depth (in cm), the elemental concentration (in %) and the stable isotope (13C and 15N) compositions reported as delta values (in ‰). Sediment samples were dried in an oven at 40°C and ground using a pestle and a mortar. Thirty mg of sediment was weighed into a tin cup for elemental and stable isotope analysis at the Central Science Laboratory (CSL), University of Tasmania. Total carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) content was analysed by elemental analyser using flash combustion (Elementar, vario PyroCube, Germany). The stable isotopes 13C, 15N and 34S were analysed by isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS, Isoprime100). A duplicate sample of 35 mg was weighed into a silver cup for organic C measurement. Fifty µL of MQW was added into this cup and the samples were fumigated with concentrated HCl within a desiccator for 24h (Komada et al., 2008) to remove inorganic C. Samples were finally dried in an oven at 60°C and analysed. Isotopic results are reported as delta values (δX; where X = 13C,15N or 34S): δX =(R_sample / R_standard -1)×1000 ‰ where R is the ratio 13C/12C, 15N/14N or 34S/32S respectively. The δ13C value is reported respective to the PDB (Pee Dee Belemnite) standard; the δ15N is reported with reference to air; and δ34S is reported respective to the CTD (Canyon Diablo troilite) standard. References - Armand, L. K., O’Brien, P. E., Armbrecht, L., Baker, H., Caburlotto, A., Connell, T., … Young, A. (2018). Interactions of the Totten Glacier with the Southern Ocean through multiple glacial cycles (IN2017-V01): Post-survey report. ANU Research Publications. - Komada, T., Anderson, M. R., and Dorfmeier, C. L. (2008). Carbonate removal from coastal sediments for the determination of organic carbon and its isotopic signatures, δ 13 C and Δ 14 C: comparison of fumigation and direct acidification by hydrochloric acid . Limnology and Oceanography: Methods, 6(6), 254–262.

This data features stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of co-occurring Southern Ocean pteropods in order to estimate and compare their Bayesian isotopic niches. Other data includes station number, latitude and longitude, species names and sample ID. Details for each column are as follows: A: "species" - Species analysed including, "clio" = Clio pyramidata f. sulcata; "clione" = Clione limacina antarctica; "spongio" = Spongiobranchaea australis; "Large-fraction POM" = large-fraction particulate organic matter; "Small-fraction POM" = small-fraction particulate organic matter B: "speciesID" - Sample ID = unique identifier from Central Science Laboratory, University of Tasmania C: "station" = CTD number (KAxis research voyage) D: "date" = Date of sample (RMT-8 net trawl, KAxis research voyage) E: "lat" = Latitude (degS) F: "long" = Longitude (degE) G: "%C" = percent carbon (no unit) H: "%N" = percent nitrogen (no unit) I: "C:N (bulk)" = uncorrected (raw) carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (no unit) J: "delta 13C (bulk)" = uncorrected (raw) stable carbon isotope values (‰) H: "delta 15N (bulk)" = uncorrected (raw) stable nitrogen isotope values (‰) L: "notes" = samples may be duplicated or triplicated M: "atomic C:N" = C:N (bulk) x 14/12 (no unit) N: "atomic L" = 93/(1+ (1/((0.246 x atomic C:N) - 0.775))) O: "L" = 93/(1+(1/((0.246 x C:N (bulk) - 0.775))) P: "delta 13C (Kiljunen)" = delta 13C (bulk) corrected using formula by Kiljunen et al. 2006 Q: "delta 13C (atomic Kiljunen)" = delta 13C (bulk) corrected using formula by Kiljunen et al. 2006 and atomic L value (column N) R: "delta 13C (Post)" = delta 13C (bulk) corrected using formula by Post et al. 2007 S: "delta 13C (Weldrick)" = delta 13C (bulk) corrected using formula by Weldrick et al. 2019 T: "delta 13C (atomic Smyntek)" = delta 13C (bulk) corrected using formula by Smyntek et al. 2007 and atomic L value (column N) U: "delta 13C (Smyntek)" = delta 13C (bulk) corrected using formula by Smyntek et al. 2007 V: "delta 13C (Logan)" = delta 13C (bulk) corrected using formula by Logan et al. 2008 W: "delta 13C (Syvaranta)" = delta 13C (bulk) corrected using formula by Syvaranta and Rautio 2010 The analysis is featured within a recently accepted paper titled "Trophodynamics of Southern Ocean pteropods on the southern Kerguelen Plateau" peer-reviewed for Ecology and Evolution (2019). It is based on samples collected during the KAxis research voyage, 2015/16.