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The cornucopia of chilly winters: Ocean quahog (Arctica islandica L., Mollusca) master chronology reveals bottom water nutrient enrichment during colder winters (North Sea)

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Abstract

We studied variations in annual shell growth rates of ten live-collectedArctica islandica specimens from three localities at the Dogger Bank in the central North Sea. Synchronous growth curves from contemporaneous specimens enabled the construction of a 65-year multi-locality master chronology. Stepwise multiple linear correlation analysis indicated a highly significant (p<0.01) negative relationship between annual shell growth and winter sea surface temperatures (SST) during the period of 1953 to 1995. Up to 27.5% of the variation in the annual shell growth is explained by winter temperature. We explain the higher growrh levels in colder winters by higher food supply. During warmer winters both the stratification and bottom water currents in the study area seem to be stronger and prevent downward-mixing of nutrients as well as settlement of food on the sea floor. During colder winters, however, the stratification weakens and phytoplankton produced in the cold surface layer reaches the sea floor. Long-term changes in shell growth rates are thus directly connected to hydrographic changes in the North Sea, which in turn are relared to fluctuations of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO).

Our study demonstrates the usefulness ofArctica islandica for long-term, high-resolution environmental reconstructions and contributes to further understanding natural and anthropogenic variability in the environmental history of the North Sea.

Zusammenfassung

Die vorliegende Studie beschäftigt sich mit Variationen im jährlichen Schalenzuwachs von zehn lebend gefangenenArctica islandica Individuen von drei Lokalitäten auf der Doggerbank in der zentralen Nordsee. Aufgrund synchroner Verläufe der Wachstumskurven zeitgleich lebender Individuen konnten wir eine 65 Jahre umfassende Master-Chronologie erstellen. Schrittweise multiple lineare Korrelation indiziert einen hochsignifikanten (p<0.01) negativen Zusammenhang zwischen jährlichem Schalenzuwachs und Oberflächenwassertemperaturen (SST) während der Wintermonate über den Zeitraum von 1953 bis 1995. Bis zu 27,5% der Variation im jährlichen Zuwachs läßt sich durch Schwankungen der Wintertemperaturen erklären. Wir nehmen an, daß die höheren jährlichen Schalenzuwächse in kälteren Wintern mit höherem Nahrungsangebot zusammenhängen. Während wärmerer Winter scheint die vertikale Schichtung der Wassersäule im Nordosten der Doggerbank stärker zu sein. In Verbindung mit erhöhten Strömungen beeinträchtigt sie das Absinken des Phytoplanktons zum Meeresboden und verhindert ein Durchmischen von nährstoffreichen Oberflächenwassern und tieferen Wassermassen. Über längere Zeiträume sind die Nahrungsverfügbarkeit und damit das Schalenwachstum von Muscheln (hierArctica islandica) direkt an hydroklimatische Veränderungen gekoppelt, die in Verbindung mit der Variabilität der Nordatlantischen Oszillation (NAO) stehen.

Unsere Untersuchungen demonstrieren, daß sichArctica islandica für langzeitliche und hochauflösende Umweltrekonstruktionen eignet. Unsere Studie leistet darüber hinaus einen Beitrag zum besseren Verständnis natürlicher und anthropogener Variabilitäten der Umweltgeschichte der Nordsee.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forschungsgruppe INCREMENTS, Johann Wolfgang Goerhe-Universität Geologisch-Paläontologisches Institut, Senckenberganlage 32-34, 60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Bernd R. Schöne, Stephen D. Houk, Antuané D. Freyre Castro & Wolfgang Oschmann

  2. Abteilung für Meeresforschung, Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Südstrand 40-44, 26382, Wilhelmshaven, Germany

    Ingrid Kröncke

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  1. Bernd R. Schöne
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  2. Ingrid Kröncke
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  5. Wolfgang Oschmann
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Correspondence to Bernd R. Schöne.

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Schöne, B.R., Kröncke, I., Houk, S.D. et al. The cornucopia of chilly winters: Ocean quahog (Arctica islandica L., Mollusca) master chronology reveals bottom water nutrient enrichment during colder winters (North Sea). Senckenbergiana maritima 32, 165–175 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03043092

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