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Southeastern Chukchi Sea (Alaska) macrobenthos

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Abstract

Macrobenthos in the southeastern Chukchi Sea, inclusive of the Chukchi Bight and Kotzebue Sound, were collected in 1985–1987 to determine factors influencing faunal distribution, abundance and biomass. Polychaetes, crustaceans, bivalve mollusks, and ophiuroid echinoderms dominated abundance. Polychaetes, bivalve mollusks, and ophiuroid echinoderms dominated carbon biomass with barnacles, amphipods, bryozoans, and tunicates occasionally dominant. Cluster analysis and ordination revealed relatively high faunal abundance and biomass under Bering Shelf Anadyr Water (BSAW) as well as under Alaska Coastal Water (ACW) in the Bight and Sound. Advected particulate carbon from the highly productive BSAW supported the abundant macrobenthos that served as food for numerous epifauna, which in turn furnished food for resident and transient populations of demersal fishes and marine mammals.

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Acknowledgments

The study was funded by the Minerals Management Service, Department of the Interior, through an interagency agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Samples were collected on the NOAA Ships Oceanographer, Surveyor and 1273. We thank Tama Rucker for shipboard sampling assistance and laboratory analysis of fauna, as well as three anonymous reviewers for helpful suggestions.

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  1. Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-1080, USA

    Howard M. Feder, Stephen C. Jewett & Arny L. Blanchard

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  1. Howard M. Feder
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Correspondence to Howard M. Feder.

Appendix

Appendix

Granulometric composition, concentrations (wt %) of organic carbon (OC) and nitrogen (N), OC/N ratios and stable carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) of surficial sediments and benthic wet biomass (B w = g m−2), carbon biomass(B c = g C m−2) and abundance (Abund. = ind. m−2) of the Southeast Chukchi Sea inclusive of the Chukchi Bight and Kotzebue Sound. Sediment percentages are expressed on a dry weight basis. “–” = data not available.

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Feder, H.M., Jewett, S.C. & Blanchard, A.L. Southeastern Chukchi Sea (Alaska) macrobenthos. Polar Biol 30, 261–275 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-006-0180-z

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