Description: The dataset comprises a total of 7,134 records of presence and absence for 87 sea star taxa (84 % on species level, 16 % others) from 72 trawl samples (Agassiz trawl, bottom trawl, Rauschert dredge, epibenthic sledge) and 10 others (multi-box corer, giant box corer, amphipod trap, fish trap, CTD logger). The dataset was collected in the Antarctic Weddell Sea and western Antarctic Peninsula (depth range: 94 - 1353 m) during “Polarstern” cruises ANT I/2 (1983), ANT II/4 (1983/84), ANT V/3 (1987), ANT VI/3 (1987/88), ANT XV/3 (1998) and ANT XVII/3 (2000).

Description: Here, we provided four ArcGIS map packages with georeferenced files on the spatial distribution of Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, (adults and larvae) and ice krill, Euphausia crystallorophias, in the wider Weddell Sea. The files were created in the context of the development of a marine protected area in the Weddell Sea. Antarctic krill (adults): The map of predicted habitat suitability for adult Antarctic krill was based on krill data from the database KRILLBASE (Atkinson et al., 2017; data request: 26-09-13). Those data were complemented by krill data, which were collected (a) during the Norwegian Antarctic research expedition 1976/77 (M/V "Polarsirkel"), (b) during two Soviet research cruises (RV "Gizhiga", 1977; RV "Volny Vetter", 1983), (c) in the context of the Lazarev Sea Krill Survey ("Polarstern" cruises ANT-XXI/4, ANT-XXIII/2, ANT-XXIII/6, ANT-XXIV/2) as well as (d) during "Polarstern" cruise ANT-XXIX/3. The habitat suitability model was developed by the use of the modelling package "biomod2". As predictor variables, we used (i) dissolved oxygen from the World Ocean Atlas 2013, (ii) ice coverage from AMSR-E sea ice maps, (iii) seawater temperature data from the Finite Element Sea Ice - Ocean Model (FESOM) provided by R. Timmermann (AWI), (iv) bathymetric data from the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) and (v) SeaWiFS chlorophyll-a concentration data. Most suitable habitat conditions for the Antarctic krill seem to occur near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, on the continental slope between 15°W and 15°E and on the Maud Rise plateau. Antarctic krill (larvae): The map of interpolated abundances of krill larvae is based on abundance data, which were collected (a) during the Norwegian Antarctic research expeditions 1976/77, 1977/78 and 1979/80 (M/V "Polarsirkel"), (b) in the context of the First International BIOMASS Experiment survey (FIBEX) (Walther Herwig cruise 1981) and the Lazarev Sea Krill Survey (LAKRIS) ("Polarstern" cruises ANT-XXI/4, ANT-XXIII/6) as well as (c) during "Polarstern" cruise ANT-VII/4 and the combined "Polarstern" (ANT-VIII/2) and R.V. "Akademik Fedorova" cruise. An inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation was performed for a 30 km radius around each krill larvae record. Areas with highest numbers of E. superba larvae (〉 1000 individuals/m²) occurred west of the Prime Meridian from approximately 65°S to the ice shelf. Ice krill (adults): The map of the potential habitat of E. crystallorophias was approximated by water depth from 0 m to 550 m, using bathymetric data from IBCSO, and mean sea surface temperature ≤ 0°C based on temperature data from FESOM provided by R. Timmermann (AWI). The map of interpolated density of individuals of E. crystallorophias is based on abundance data, which were collected (a) during the Norwegian Antarctic research expedition 1979/80 (M/V "Polarsirkel"), (b) during the German Antarctic research cruise 1975/76 with "Walther Herwig", (c) in the context of the Lazarev Sea Krill Survey ("Polarstern" cruises ANT-XXI/4, ANT-XXIII/2, ANT-XXIII/6, ANT-XXIV/2) as well as (d) during "Polarstern" cruise ANT-V/1-3, ANT-VII/4 and ANT-XXIX/3. An IDW interpolation was performed for a 30 km radius around each record of ice krill. Areas with highest densities of E. crystallorophias individuals occurred on the south-eastern Weddell Sea shelf and near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Volker Siegel (retired; formerly Thünen Institute) provided the data for the Antarctic krill and ice krill. More information on the spatial analysis is given in working paper WG-EMM-16/03 submitted to the CCAMLR Working Group on Ecosystem Monitoring and Management (available at https://www.ccamlr.org/en/wg-emm-16).