Abstract
Field investigations of marine macrobenthos were conducted at ten sites in the Bering Sea in July 2010. Altogether 90 species of macrobenthos belonging to 59 families and 78 genera were identified. Among them, 41 polychaetes, 16 mollusks, 23 crustaceans, three echinoderms, two cnidarians, one nemertean, one priapulid, two sipunculids, and one echiuran were identified. The average density and biomass of total macrobenthos were 984 ind./m2 and 1 207.1 g/m2 of wet weight, respectively. The predominant species in the study area were Scoloplos armiger, Eudorella pacifica, Ophiura sarsii, Heteromastus filiformis, Ennucula tenuis, and Harpiniopsis vadiculus by abundance, while the predominant species in this area was Echinarachnius parma by biomass. Hierarchical cluster analysis (Bray-Curtis similarity measure) revealed that two important benthic assemblages in the study area were Community A and Community B. Community A was stable and Community B was unstable, as shown by the Abundance/Biomass Comparisons (ABC) approach. The macrobenthic community structure in the shelf of the Bering Sea was characterized by its high abundance and biomass, high productivity but great heterogeneity.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Banks D, Williams M, Pearce J, et al. 2000. Ecoregion-based Conservation in the Bering Sea: Identifying Important Areas for Biodiversity Conservation. Washington, DC: World Wildlife Fund, the Nature Conservancy of Alaska
Bodil B A, Ambrose Jr W G, Bergmann M, et al. 2011. Diversity of the arctic deep-sea benthos. Marine Biodiversity, 41(1): 87–107
Cooper L W, Grebmeier J M, Larsen I L, et al. 1998. Inventories and distribution of radiocesium in Arctic marine sediments: Influence of biological and physical processes. Chemistry and Ecology, 15: 27–46
Cooper L W, Grebmeier J M, Larsen I L, et al. 2002. Seasonal variation in water column processes and sedimentation of organic materials in the St. Lawrence Island polynya region, Bering Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 226: 13–26
Feder H M. 1977. The distribution, abundance, diversity and biology of benthic organisms in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. In: Annual Report to NOAA. R.U. Nos 281, 5, 303. Alaska, Fairbanks: Inst Mar Sci Univ Alaska, 340
Feder H M, Hilsinger J, Hoberg M, et al. 1978. Survey of the epifaunal invertebrates of the Southeastern Bering Sea. In: Final Report to NOAA, OCSEAP. R.U. No. 5. Alaska, Fairbanks: Inst Mar Sci Univ Alaska, 126
General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China, Standardization Administration of China. 2007.
GB12763.6-2007 Specifications for Oceanographic Survey-Part 6: Marine Biological Survey. Beijing: China Standards Press
Grebmeier J M, Barry J P. 1991. The influence of oceanographic processes on pelagic-benthic coupling in polar regions: A benthic perspective. Journal of Marine Systems, 2(3–4): 495–518
Grebmeier J M, Cooper L W. 1995. Influence of the St. Lawrence Island polynya upon the Bering Sea benthos. J Geophys Res, 100: 4439–4460
Grebmeier J M, Cooper L W, Feder H M, et al. 2006. Ecosystem dynamics of the Pacific-influenced northern Bering and Chukchi Seas in the Amerasian Arctic. Prog Oceangr, 71: 331–361
Grebmeier J M, Dunton K H. 2000. Benthic processes in the northern Bering/Chukchi seas: status and global change. Impacts of changes in Sea Ice and other environmental parameters in the Arctic. In: Report of the Marine Mammal Commission Workshop, Girdwood, Alaska. Bethesda, Maryland: Marine Mammal Commission, 61–71
Grebmeier J M, Feder H M, McRoy C P. 1989. Pelagic-benthic coupling on the shelf of the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas: II. Benthic community structure. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 51: 253–268
Grebmeier J M, McRoy C P, Feder H M. 1988. Pelagic-benthic coupling on the shelf of the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas: I. Food supply source and benthic biomass. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 48: 57–67
Grebmeier J M, Overland J E, Moore S E, et al. 2006. A major ecosystem shift in the northern Bering Sea. Science, 311(5766): 1461–1464
Highsmith R C, Coyle K O. 1990. High productivity of northern Bering Sea benthic amphipods. Nature, 344: 862–864
Li Xinzheng, Liu Lusan, Li Baoquan, et al. 2010. Macrobenthos in China Sea: Research and Application (in Chinese). Beijing: China Ocean Press
Li Rongguan, Zheng Fengwu, Jiang Jinxiang, et al. 2003. Macrobenthos in the Chukchi Sea and Bering Sea. Biodiversity Science (in Chinese), 11(3): 204–215
Ma Keping, Liu Yuming. 1994. Measurement of biotic community diversity I a diversity (Part 2). Biodiversity Science (in Chinese), 2(4): 231–239
McCormick-Ray J, Warwick R M, Ray G C. 2011. Benthic macrofaunal compositional variations in the northern Bering Sea. Marine Biology, 158(6): 1365–1376
National Research Council. 1996. The Bering Sea Ecosystem. Washington, DC: the National Academies Press
Stoker S W. 1981. Benthic invertebrate macrofauna of the eastern Bering/Chukchi continental shelf. In: Hood D W, Calder J A, eds. The Eastern Bering Sea Shelf: Oceanography and Resources, vol. 2. U.S. Rockville, Maryland: Department of Commerce, NOAA, 1069–1091
Zhou Hong, Zhang Zhinan. 2003. Rationale of the multivariate statistical software PRIMER and its application in benthic community ecology. Journal of Ocean University of Qingdao (Natural Science Edition) (in Chinese), 33(1): 58–64
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation item: The China Action Plan of the International Polar Year; the Public Science and Technology Research Funds Projects of Ocean under contract No. 201105022-2; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 41306115 and 41306116; the Polar Science Strategic Research Foundation of China under contract No. 20140309.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, J., He, X., Lin, H. et al. Community structure and spatial distribution of macrobenthos in the shelf area of the Bering Sea. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 33, 74–81 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-014-0491-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-014-0491-9