July 08, 2013
A research article titled "Risk maps for Antarctic krill under projected acidification" was published in the electronic version of the British science journal "Nature Climate Change" (July 8, 2:00 a.m. JST).
Lead author Dr. So Kawaguchi, a krill specialist in the Australian Antarctic Division, stated that Antarctic krill is a key species in the Southern Ocean, and that the fate of Antarctic krill strongly affects the entire ecosystem of the Antarctic region.
Dr. Kawaguchi and Dr. Ishimatsu of the Nagasaki University first met in 2007 at a symposium held in Hiroshima. They immediately agreed to collaborate to investigate potential impacts of future environmental changes of the Southern Ocean on the biology of Antarctic krill, which was then totally unknown, through bringing together Dr. Kawaguchi's knowledge on the biology of Antarctic krill and Dr. Ishimatsu's experience in ocean acidification research. They readily began joint research, which resulted in the publication of their first coauthored paper in 2011 in the academic journal, "Biology Letters."
This article was selected as one of the 10 most often cited "Biology Letters" articles in 2011.
The team is going to conduct comprehensive research into the effects of Southern Ocean acidification and warming on Antarctic krill, including effects on swimming behavior and reproduction.
* For details, please see this PDF file (193kb).
Article in the electronic edition of the "Nature Climate Change" British science journal:
http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate1937.html