The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is experiencing rapid climate warming, resulting in affecting the marine food web. To investigate the microzooplankton spatial distribution and to assess how climate change could affect the tintinnids community, sea water samples were collected during late summer 2018 at 19 stations in three different areas: Deception Island, Elephant Island and Antarctic Sound. The microzooplankton community comprised mainly tintinnids, aloricate ciliates, heterotrophic dinoflagellates and micrometazoans. Microzooplankton abundance varied between 3 and 109 ind. L⁻¹ and biomass ranged from 0.009 to 2.55 µg C L⁻¹. Significant differences in terms of abundance and taxonomic composition of microzooplankton were found among the three sampling areas. Deception Island area showed 44% of tintinnids and the rest were heterotrophic dinoflagellate, aloricate ciliates and micrometazoans. In Elephant Island and Antarctic Sound areas, tintinnids reached, respectively, 73% and 83% of the microzooplankton composition, with all the other groups varying between 20 and 30%. Tintinnids were the most representative group in the area, with the species Codonellopsis balechi, Codonellopsis glacialis, Cymatocylis convallaria and Cymatocylis drygalskii. The highest amounts of tintinnids were found at the surface and 100 m depth. The above mentioned species may be considered key species for the WAP and therefore they can be used to track environmental and hydrographical changes in the area. In late summer, microzooplankton presented low abundances and biomass, nevertheless they represented an important fraction of the planktonic community in the area.

南极半岛西部 (WAP) 正在经历快速的气候变暖，从而影响海洋食物网。为了调查微型浮游动物的空间分布并评估气候变化如何影响丁丁鱼群落，我们于 2018 年夏末在三个不同区域的 19 个站点收集了海水样本：欺骗岛、象岛和南极海峡。微型浮游动物群落主要包括tintinnids、aloricate纤毛虫、异养鞭毛藻和微型后生动物。微型浮游动物的丰度在 3 到 109 ind 之间变化。L ^-1和生物量范围从 0.009 到 2.55 µg CL ^-1. 三个采样区在微型浮游动物的丰度和分类组成方面存在显着差异。欺骗岛区域显示 44% 的丁丁目动物，其余为异养鞭毛藻、银毛藻纤毛虫和微后生动物。在象岛和南极海湾地区，丁丁鱼分别占微型浮游动物组成的 73% 和 83%，所有其他群体在 20% 和 30% 之间变化。Tintinnids是该地区最具代表性的类群，有Codonellopsis balechi、Codonellopsis glacialis、Cymatocylis convallaria和Cymatocylis drygalskii。在地表和 100 m 深处发现了最高数量的丁丁虫。上述物种可能被视为 WAP 的关键物种，因此它们可用于跟踪该地区的环境和水文变化。在夏末，微型浮游动物的丰度和生物量较低，但它们代表了该地区浮游生物群落的重要组成部分。