KRILLBASE-larvae: a database of abundance of eggs and larval stages of Euphausia superba in the Southern Ocean spanning 1926-2024
GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/02221
Abstract:
Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba, hereafter "krill") are an important component of Southern Ocean food webs, are efficient in sequestering carbon and support a major fishery. Knowledge of the early life cycle of this species is key to understanding its population dynamics and essential for fisheries management in a warming climate. Many data have been collected over the years on the distribution of krill larvae, but the data remain fragmented and hard to re-use. Here we have put these disparate data sources together into a large database of 10,762 net-sampling records with numerical abundance data on larval krill stages. This new KRILLBASE-larvae database complements two existing and circumpolar KRILLBASE open-access databases, namely KRILLBASE-abundance (numerical abundance of postlarval krill and salps) and KRILLBASE-length frequency. Both previous databases have been used extensively, and we hope that by completing the set to include larvae, we provide a resource needed for a more holistic appreciation of krill dynamics. This third database in the series now enables numerical abundance of all krill life stages to be mapped over time. This provides the underpinning data needed for example, to model the krill life cycle, population dynamics, response to climate change and to help manage the krill fishery. KRILLBASE-larvae is circumpolar in scope, albeit with most data concentrated in the SW Atlantic sector which appears to be the major spawning ground and where the fishery operates. The data span 1926-2024 with over 50 seasons of coverage spanning two distinct epochs: 1926-1939 and 1976-2024. The database contains information from net hauls, providing numerical densities (numbers per m-2) of eggs, nauplii, metanauplii, calyptope and furcilia stages, alongside key sampling information such as sampling depths, net type, net mesh size, water depth, temperature etc. Our accompanying data paper provides a full description of KRILLBASE-larvae, mapping data coverage in terms of space, time and sampling depth, providing pointers and caveats to its use.
Funding was provided by the Antarctic Wildlife Research Fund.
Citation:
Atkinson, A., Pakhomov, E.A., Hill, S., Yang, G., Rombola, E.F., Ward, P., Reiss, C., Schmidt, K., Kasyan, V., Tarling, G.A., Liszka, C.M., Samchyshyna, L., Cavan, E., & ten Hoopen, P. (2026). KRILLBASE-larvae: a database of abundance of eggs and larval stages of Euphausia superba in the Southern Ocean spanning 1926-2024 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/946546c8-b24f-422f-96e1-3bd872506c5f
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License
| Access: | Data are under embargo until publication of the associated manuscript. |
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| Use: | These data are governed by the NERC data policy http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/sites/data/policy/ and supplied under Open Government Licence v.3 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/. |
Basic Information
| Creation Date: | 2026-06-10 |
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| Dataset Progress: | Complete |
| Dataset Language: | English |
| ISO Topic Categories: |
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| Parameters: |
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Additional Information
| Reference: | Angus Atkinson, Evgeny Pakhomov, Simeon Hill, Guang Yang, Emilce Rombola, Peter Ward, Christian Reiss, Katrin Schmidt, Valentina Kasyan, Geraint Tarling, Cecilia Liszka, Emma Cavan, and Petra ten Hoopen. KRILLBASE-larvae: a database of abundance of eggs and larval stages of Euphausia superba in the Southern Ocean spanning 1926-2024 (submitted to ESSD) | |
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| Quality: | The basic sampling information is covered in some of the database fields (e.g. NET-TYPE) and the final four comments fields. The data paper contains references to the large number (>50) of component studies which were compiled, and the papers themselves provide further information and detail, additional to that provided in the database and the data paper. | |
| Lineage/Methodology: | The accompanying data paper provides a full description of KRILLBASE-larvae. This database represents a compilation of all accessible data based on net sampling of larval stages of Antarctic krill, spanning from 1926 to 2024. The data have all been collected with nets and analysed by taxonomists and the only krill species included is E. superba. Records have been collated from a variety of sources, including transcription from sampling log sheets, transcription from published tables or figures, obtained from national databases or sent by co-authors or data originators. The data sources for KRILLBASE-larvae, reported here, are summarised in Table 1 of the accompanying data paper. While the data span 1926-1939 (hereafter called the Discovery era) and 1976-2024 (called the modern era) the data are not a true time series since they have been collected with a variety of different net types around the Southern Ocean with different net meshes, sampling depths, times of the day and times of year. |
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Extent
| Temporal Coverage: | |
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| Start Date | 1926-01-01 |
| End Date | 1939-01-01 |
| Start Date | 1976-01-01 |
| End Date | 2024-01-01 |
| Spatial Coverage: | |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | -78 |
| Northernmost | -43 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -180 |
| Easternmost | 180 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | N/A |
| Max Depth | N/A |
| Location: | |
| Location | Southern Ocean |
| Detailed Location | N/A |
Storage
| Data Storage: | 1 data file (CSV, 9MB). |
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