The Prince Edward Islands pelagic ecosystem, south Indian Ocean: a review of achievements, 1976–1990

This review summarizes the main research findings of the multi-year oceanographic and biological studies conducted in the vicinity of the Prince Edward Archipelago during the period 1976 to 1990. The Prince Edward Islands represent a flow-through system on the mainstream of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Although there are no taxonomic differences between the pelagic communities of the upstream, inter-island and downstream regions, these mesoscale subsystems may operate differently. The mesoscale oceanographic and biological processes appear to be affected by the position of the Subantarctic Front (SAF) in the vicinity of the islands. Both the rich benthic community, which is supported by the local enhancement of primary production, and the strong advection of zooplankton/micronekton from the upstream region provide the food resources necessary for the survival of the huge community of land-based predators present on the islands. Collectively this is termed the ‘life-support system'. Future studies should concentrate on the meridional shifts in the position of the SAF and its influence on background productivity upstream and downstream of the Prince Edward Archipelago.