The bathymetric data used in the context of the WSMPA planning initiative originate from the first regional digital bathymetric model (DBM) established in the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) Version 1.0 programme (data request: April 2013) (Table 1; Fig. 3a). This chart model is based upon bathymetric data of different origins, such as multi-beam and single-beam data; digitised depths from nautical charts; and predicted bathymetry from many hydrographic offices, scientific institutions, and data centres. The IBCSO Version 1.0 DBM has a horizontal resolution of 500m×500m and a vertical resolution of 1 m based on a polar stereographic projection with true scale at 65∘ referenced to the WGS84 ellipsoid (Arndt et al., 2013a, b).

Daily high-resolution sea ice maps of the Antarctic Ocean are provided by the PHAROS group (PHysical Analysis of RemOte Sensing images) at the Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen, Germany. The sea ice raster maps, which were used in the context of the WSMPA planning initiative, are derived from satellite observations of daily sea ice concentration by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer – Earth Observing System (AMSR-EOS) instrument on board the Aqua satellite. Daily AMSR-E sea ice maps (2013) (June 2002–October 2011) were downloaded from IUP, University of Bremen (data request: 18 December 2013) (see Table 1; Fig. 3b). The ARTIST Sea Ice (ASI) concentration algorithm was used with a spatial resolution of 6.25km×6.25km (Spreen et al., 2008) and a polar stereographic projection (EPSG: 3976).

Monthly mean values of seawater temperature, salinity and current velocity from 1990 to 2009 were derived from the Finite Element Sea Ice – Ocean Model (FESOM) (Table 1; Fig. 3c, d). The model run was initialised on 1 January 1980 with hydrographic data from the Polar Science Center Hydrographic Climatology (Steele et al., 2001), and forced with NCEP daily atmospheric re-analysis data (Kalnay et al., 1996) for 1980 to 2009. For more information on FESOM and the atmospheric-forcing data sets, see, e.g. Timmermann et al. (2009) and Haid and Timmermann (2013), respectively. The FESOM raster has a resolution of 0.18∘(x)×0.05∘(y); in the vertical, two z levels (i.e. sea surface and sea bottom) are used. The raster is based on the WGS84 geographic coordinate system (EPSG: 4326).

IBCSO data, AMSR-E sea ice maps and FESOM data were used in a pelagic regionalisation analysis of the Weddell Sea. The respective data layer products are available at 10.1594/PANGAEA.899595 (Pehlke and Teschke, 2019) (“Pelagic regionalisation – clustering approach”). The clustering approach to classifying different pelagic provinces is described in the Supplement. In addition, the data sets were used as environmental variables in various geostatistical approaches to develop spatial distribution maps for (i) adult Antarctic krill (AMSR-E), (ii) ice krill (IBCSO, FESOM), (iii) echinoderms (FESOM), (iv) demersal fish (IBCSO, FESOM), (v) Antarctic toothfish (IBCSO), (vi) Antarctic petrel (IBCSO, AMSR-E, FESOM) and (vii) emperor penguins (AMSR-E). The methods used to develop the different spatial distribution maps are described in the Supplement, and the PANGAEA link to the respective data layer products (including file names) is given in the corresponding subsection under Sect. 2.4.

Near-surface chlorophyll a concentration values stem from the Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) measurements on board the OrbView-2 (formerly SeaStar) spacecraft (Table 1). The monthly aggregated data (1997 to 2010) were downloaded as level 3 standard mapped images (L3SMI) with a spatial resolution of 9km×9km (data request: 9 September 2014).

Data on dissolved oxygen, phosphate and nitrate were obtained from the World Ocean Atlas 2013 version 2 (WOA13 V2) (Garcia et al., 2014a, b) (Table 1). The data (1955 to 2012) were downloaded as monthly statistical means with a horizontal resolution of 1∘(x)×1∘(y) and 57 and 37 vertical (z) levels between 0 to 1500 and 0 to 500 m for dissolved oxygen and phosphate or nitrate, respectively. The data requests were made on 11 July 2013 (dissolved oxygen), 17 July 2013 (nitrate) and 18 July 2013 (phosphate), respectively.

A data compilation of total organic carbon content and calcium carbonate and silica in surface sediments was downloaded from the data archive PANGAEA (Seiter et al., 2004a, b, c, and references therein) (see Table 1). Data on biogenic silica of the sediment surface were obtained from PANGAEA as well (Geibert et al., 2005b).

The data described under Sect. 2.3.4 to 2.3.6 were used as explanatory variables in the Antarctic krill species distribution model (SDM) (SeaWiFS, WOA13, chemical sediment components) and in the demersal fish SDM (WOA13, chemical sediment components). The SDMs are described in detail in the Supplement and the PANGAEA link to the respective data layer products (including file names) is given in the corresponding subsection under Sect. 2.4.

The WSMPA data collection of adult Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) originates from (i) historical UK data from “Discovery Expeditions” (1928–1939) and data collected during the SIBEX cruise by British Antarctic Survey; (ii) five South African data sets from the 1990s; (iii) four Soviet data sets from 1998 and 1990; (iv) Polish data (Witek et al., 1985); and (v) German data from location discovery cruises with MV Polarsirkel in 1979/1980 and 1980/1981 (Siegel, 1982), RV Walther Herwig cruises (1975/1976, 1977/1978), and the 2004 Lazarev Sea Krill Survey (LAKRIS) (RV Polarstern cruise ANT-XXI/4) (Siegel, 2012). All of the data are publicly available via the database KRILLBASE (2013, brg8) (Atkinson et al., 2017) (see Table S2 in the Supplement, which provides a detailed list of data used from KRILLBASE). The data from KRILLBASE were complemented by abundance data on E. superba, which were collected (a) during the Norwegian Antarctic research expedition 1976/1977 (MV Polarsirkel); (b) during two Soviet research cruises in 1977 and 1983; (c) in the context of the Lazarev Sea Krill Survey; and (d) during the RV Polarstern cruises ANT-V/1-3, ANT-VII/4, ANT-XVIII/4, and ANT-XXIX/3 (Table 2). Furthermore, fisheries data on E. superba for the WSMPA Planning Area (i.e. Statistical Subarea 48.5 and the southern part of Subarea 48.6) stem from the CCAMLR database (https://www.ccamlr.org; data request: 3 October 2013) (Table 2).

All of these data were used in a species distribution model (SDM) of adult Antarctic krill and ultimately led to a data layer product showing habitat suitability for adult Antarctic krill in the WSMPA Planning Area (see 10.1594/PANGAEA.899667, Teschke et al., 2019a; “Adult Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba – habitat suitability prediction”).

Abundance data on Antarctic krill larvae stem from (a) the Antarctic research expeditions 1976/1977 and 1979/1980 with MV Polarsirkel, (b) the First International BIOMASS Experiment survey (FIBEX), (c) the Lazarev Sea Krill Survey (LAKRIS), and the (d) RV Polarstern cruise ANT-VII/4 and the combined RV Polarstern (ANT-VIII/2) and RV Akademik Fedorov cruises (see Table 2).

All of the data on Antarctic krill larvae were used for an interpolation approach and led to a map of the interpolated abundances of krill larvae in the WSMPA Planning Area (see 10.1594/PANGAEA.899667, Teschke et al., 2019a; “Antarctic krill larvae, Euphausia superba – interpolated abundance”).

Abundance data on adult ice krill (Euphausia crystallorophias) originate from pelagic trawl surveys during (a) the German Antarctic research cruise 1975/1976 with RV Walther Herwig; (b) the “Pre-Site Survey” 1979/1980 with MV Polarsirkel; (c) the Lazarev Sea Krill Survey; and (d) RV Polarstern cruises ANT-V/1-3, ANT-VII/4, and ANT-XXIX/3 (Table 2).

The abundance data on E.crystallorophias were used for an interpolation approach and led to a map showing the interpolated abundances of ice krill (see 10.1594/PANGAEA.899667, Teschke et al., 2019a; “Ice krill, Euphausia crystallorophias – interpolated density”). In addition, the abundance data on E. crystallorophias were used for “ground truthing” of the potential ice krill habitat (10.1594/PANGAEA.899667, Teschke et al., 2019a; “Ice krill, Euphausia crystallorophias – pot habitat”).

All data on E. superba and E. crystallorophias that were used, in addition to KRILLBASE and the CCAMLR database, are stored in the data warehouse of the Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries (https://www.thuenen.de/de/sf, last access: 9 March 2020) and can be requested on demand.

Abundance data and semi-quantitative data on sponges (higher taxonomic groups) that were compiled in the context of the WSMPA planning initiative, originate from zoobenthos data sets. The abundance data (Gerdes, 2014a–p) and the semi-quantitative data set (Teschke and Brey, 2020) are publicly available via PANGAEA (see Table 2).

Based on these data, we developed a map of the occurrence of sponges in the WSMPA Planning Area (10.1594/PANGAEA.899645, Teschke et al., 2019b; “Sponges, Porifera – interpolated presence”).

The compiled data set on echinoderms consists of presence–absence data on a species level for asteroids and abundance data on ophiuroid taxa and holothurian taxa. The first two data sets are freely available in PANGAEA (Teschke and Brey, 2019a, b), and the latter is available from the following information system: http://biodiversity.aq/ (last access: 9 March 2020) (Gutt et al., 2014).

These data were used in a clustering approach to ultimately identify the potential habitat for echinoderms in the WSMPA Planning Area by environmental proxies (10.1594/PANGAEA.899645, Teschke et al., 2019b; “Special echinoderm assemblage – pot habitat”).

The WSMPA data collection on Antarctic silverfish larvae (Pleuragramma antarctica) originates from quantitative zooplankton data sets obtained during the RV Polarstern cruises ANT-I/2 and ANT-III/3 and during the Lazarev Sea Krill Survey (LAKRIS) (Table 2). The ANT-I/2 data are stored in the data warehouse of the Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries and can be requested on demand (https://www.thuenen.de/de/sf). Data on fish larvae from ANT-III/3 are available from Hubold et al. (1988), and the LAKRIS data can be requested from https://www.awi.de/forschung/biowissenschaften/polare-biologische-ozeanographie (data request: 13 December 2013).

Abundance data on demersal fish and adult P. antarctica stem from benthic and pelagic trawl surveys from six RV Polarstern cruises between 1996 and 2011 (Table 2) and are published in PANGAEA (Knust, 2020 and references therein, i.e. Balguerías and Knust, 2020; Knust and Schröder, 2020; Knust et al., 2020a–d). This data compilation was complemented by data on demersal fish and P. antarctica derived from trawl and dredge surveys published in PANGAEA (Drescher et., 2012; Ekau et al., 2012a, b; Hureau et al., 2012; Kock et al., 2012; Wöhrmann et al., 2012).

All abundance data on Antarctic silverfish (adults and larvae) were used for an interpolation approach and led to a map of the interpolated abundances of P. antarctica in the WSMPA Planning Area (10.1594/PANGAEA.899591, Teschke et al., 2019c; “Antarctic silverfish, Pleuragramma antarctica – interpolated abundance”).

All data on demersal fish were used in a SDM and led to a data layer product showing the habitat suitability for demersal fish in the WSMPA Planning Area (see 10.1594/PANGAEA.899591, Teschke et al., 2019c; “Demersal fish – habitat suitability prediction”).

Fishery data on the Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) for the WSMPA Planning Area (i.e. Statistical Subarea 48.5 and southern part of Subarea 48.6) were taken from the CCAMLR database (https://www.ccamlr.org; data request: 3 August 2016) (Table 2).

The data were used to determine the potential habitat of D. mawsoni in the WSMPA Planning Area (see 10.1594/PANGAEA.899591, Teschke et al., 2019c; “Adult toothfish, Dissostichus mawsoni – pot habitat”).

Information about nesting sites of demersal fish was collected during the RV Polarstern cruises PS82 (Knust and Schröder, 2014) and PS96 (Piepenburg, 2016). The data collected during the RV Polarstern cruises were supplemented by data from the literature (Daniels, 1978, 1979; Jones and Near, 2012). The map with the locations of the nesting sites of demersal fish is available at PANGAEA (10.1594/PANGAEA.899591, Teschke et al., 2019c; “Demersal fish – observation of nesting sites”) and is also shown in the Supplement (see Fig. S12).

Tracking data on breeding and non-breeding Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) originate from (i) British Antarctic Survey (BAS) inventory data (ID 754, 764, 773, 779), (ii) a data set from BAS and Instituto Antártico Argentino (ID 753), and (iii) a data set from the US AMLR Program (NOAA) (ID 910) (see also Table 2). All the data are stored in Birdlife International's Seabird Tracking Database (http://www.seabirdtracking.org/; data request: 20 October 2015). Adélie penguin breeding locations and estimated abundances of breeding pairs were derived from Lynch and LaRue (2014).

The tracking data on P. adeliae were used to model the probability of breeding and non-breeding P. adeliae occurrence during foraging (10.1594/PANGAEA.899520, Pehlke et al., 2019a; “Breeding Adélie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae – modelled foraging trip” and “Non-breeding Adélie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae – modelled foraging trips”). The final data layer product for breeding P. adeliae also depicts breeding locations, estimated abundances of breeding pairs and buffer areas around each colony.

Data on emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) colony locations and breeding population estimates were derived from Fretwell et al. (2012, 2014) (Table 2).

These data were used to develop a probability map of foraging areas for A. forsteri (10.1594/PANGAEA.899520, Pehlke et al., 2019a; “Breeding emperor penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri – modelled foraging areas”).

Information on breeding locations and estimated number of breeding pairs of the Antarctic petrel (Thalassoica antarctica) is published in Van Franeker et al. (1999) (Table 2).

The information on breeding pairs and their colony locations is shown in the final data layer product next to modelled foraging habitats of T. antarctica (10.1594/PANGAEA.899520, Pehlke et al., 2019a; “Antarctic petrel, Thalassoica antarctica – modelled foraging areas”).

Tracking data from pinnipeds were obtained from the MEOP data portal “Marine Mammals Exploring the Oceans Pole to Pole” available via http://www.meop.net/ (data request: 14 November 2016) (see Table 2 for a detailed list of data used). Furthermore, the data from the MEOP data portal were complemented by tracking data sets on southern elephant seals (Tosh et al., 2009a, b; James et al., 2012a, b), Weddell seals (McIntyre et al., 2013a, b) and crabeater seals (Nachtsheim et al., 2016a, b) stored in PANGAEA.

All of these tracking data were used to model the probability of seal occurrence during foraging (10.1594/PANGAEA.899619, Pehlke et al., 2019b; “Seal abundance – modelled prediction values”).

Point data from pack-ice seals (unspecified taxa) based on aerial surveys are from Plötz et al. (2011a–e) and were downloaded from PANGAEA (Table 2). These data were sampled during five flight campaigns from 1996 to 2001 within the Antarctic Pack Ice Seals (APIS) programme. Additionally, information on crabeater seal density (predicted or observed) was derived from Bester et al. (1995, 2002), Flores et al. (2008) and Forcada et al. (2012; Table 2).

All the APIS point data and information on seal densities were used to develop a map showing the distribution patterns of seals in the WSMPA Planning Area (10.1594/PANGAEA.899619, Pehlke et al., 2019b; “Seal abundance – modelled and interpolated prediction values”).