A brief review of information relevant to the establishment of a Krill Research Zone within the proposed Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area

At the close of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources meeting in 2015, New Zealand and the United States introduced a revision to the proposed Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area (RSRMPA) that included the addition of a Krill Research Zone (KRZ). A central aim of the proposed KRZ is to enhance research opportunities within the RSRMPA. To provide a background for this future research, we reviewed previous scientific work relevant to the proposed KRZ, focusing primarily on krill and krill-dependent predators. Here we provide a summary of that review, which demonstrates the potential ecological importance of the proposed KRZ and gaps in our knowledge of the area. Our review further validates the opportunity presented by the proposed KRZ for future scientific research.