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Macrofaunal shallow benthic communities along a discontinuous annual cycle at Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica

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Abstract

Temporal variations in composition and density of the benthic macrofauna at two stations (12 and 25 m depth) were studied in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica. Samples where carried out using an van Veen sampler between March and December 1999 (winter) and December 2000 and March 2001 (summer), comprising a discontinuous annual cycle. Sediment organic matter showed a marked seasonal cycle, with lowest values at middle winter. Communities showed little variations in density and composition. Temporal variations were not detected at 25 m depth. Variations at 12 m were related to one iceberg impact and to wind generated hydrodinamism, as a function of wind direction, intensity and fetch. As winter scarcity of primary production did not seem to affect macrofaunal community densities, nutrient availability for the benthos in winter can be related to the remineralization of sediment organic matter by bacterial activity.

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Notes

  1. Data provided by Dr. Alberto Setzer, INPE, Brazil

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Acknowledgements

Authors wish to thank the CNPq-PROANTAR, SECIRM, and specially to the crew of the Brazilian Antarctic Station “Comandante Ferraz” for their crucial help in field work. We also wish to thank three anonymous reviewers for comments and criticism, and to Dr. Fernando Fernandez for reviewing the manuscript and for helpful comments.

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  1. Laboratório de Polychaeta, Depto. de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, CCS, bloco A, sala A0-104, subsolo. Av. Brigadeiro Trompowsky, S/N, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, CEP: 21949-900, Brasil

    C. A. Echeverría & P. C. Paiva

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  1. C. A. Echeverría
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  2. P. C. Paiva
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Correspondence to C. A. Echeverría.

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Echeverría, C.A., Paiva, P.C. Macrofaunal shallow benthic communities along a discontinuous annual cycle at Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica. Polar Biol 29, 263–269 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-005-0049-6

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