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Ophiuroid biodiversity patterns along the Antarctic Peninsula

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Abstract

Benthic ecological surveys using standardized methods are crucial for assessing changes associated with several threats in the Southern Ocean. The acquisition of data on assemblage structure over a variety of spatial scales is important to understand the variation of biodiversity patterns. During the ANT XXIX/3 (PS81) expedition of RV Polarstern, three different regions at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula were sampled: the northwestern Weddell Sea, the Bransfield Strait, and the northern boundary of the South Shetland Archipelago in the Drake Passage. The aim of this study was to characterize the distribution and biodiversity patterns of ophiuroid assemblages in these regions and depths. We quantified different community parameters in terms of the number of species, abundance, and biomass. Additionally, we calculated various components of species diversity (alpha, beta, and gamma diversity) over the three regions. Based on the benthic surveys, we collected 3331 individuals that were identified to species level (17 species). Overall, species diversity, as measured based on rarefaction, species richness and evenness estimators, was higher in the Bransfield Strait compared to the Weddell Sea and Drake Passage. Two deep stations in the Weddell Sea showed high dominance only of Ophionotus victoriae. Significant differences in the patterns of alpha diversity were found among the regions but not between depth zones, whereas beta diversity showed no differences. Regarding the resemblance among the ophiuroid assemblages of each region, there was a significant gradient from east to west with a maximum distance between the stations in the Drake Passage and the Weddell Sea. This study provides a baseline for detecting potential effects related to climate change, and it furnishes a basis for the implementation of monitoring schemes of Antarctic assemblages.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Irene Martinez-Baraldés and participants of the Polarstern PS81/ANT XXIX/3 for their fieldwork help. We also thank the crew of the R/V Polarstern. The authors would also like to thank Julian Gutt for allowing us to participate in the expedition. The manuscript improved after the revision of Marc Eleaume and two other anonymous reviewers. Rafael Martín-Ledo provided useful information on the identification of some of the ophiuroid species included in this paper. Dr. Igor Sminov is also thanked for some comments on species identification difficulties. Cruise participation of PLG and NT was supported by the Spanish National Project ECOWED (CTM2012-39350-C02-01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    Stefano Ambroso & Núria Teixidó

  2. Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine, Research, Columbusstr, 27568, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Astrid Böhmer

  3. Biodiversidad y Ecología de Invertebrados Marinos, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Reina Mercedes 6, 41012, Seville, Spain

    Pablo López-González

  4. Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, 80121, Naples, Italy

    Núria Teixidó

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  1. Stefano Ambroso
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This article belongs to the special issue on “High environmental variability and steep biological gradients in the waters off the northern Antarctic Peninsula,” coordinated by Julian Gutt, Bruno David, and Enrique Isla.

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Ambroso, S., Böhmer, A., López-González, P. et al. Ophiuroid biodiversity patterns along the Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biol 39, 881–895 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-016-1911-4

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