Abstract
DURING the years 1935 and 1936 three volumes have been published containing reports on material collected by the "Discovery” expeditions, on many subjects by various workers. Vol. 11 is devoted entirely to plankton, and forms an introduction to the study of the plankton of the Antarctic, embodying as it does, a detailed discussion of methods and then“value, besides extensive accounts of the distribution and migrations of plant and animal plankton, pre-eminently important for the understanding of the natural history of the Blue, Fin, Sei and Humpback whales. It is noteworthy that the rirst instance of vertical migration of phytoplankton is here shown in certain species of Coscinodiscus which ascend during the daytime, the reverse of the usual animal migration. It is constantly seen in the "Discovery” reports that Euphausia superba appears to be a key animal with regard to the distribution of Antarctic plankton, forming directly the food of the Blue and the Fin whales, and indirectly influencing the plankton in a variety of ways. A consideration of the relationship between the distribution of the whales and that of the plankton, and between the zooplankton and the phytoplankton, has led to the recognition of certain general principles of pelagicecology.
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“Discovery” Investigations*. Nature 140, 290 (1937). https://doi.org/10.1038/140290a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/140290a0