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First record of sympagic hydroids (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria) in Arctic coastal fast ice

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Abstract

We report on the first record of interstitial cnidarians in sea ice. Ice core samples were collected during eight field periods between February 2003 and June 2006 in the coastal fast ice off Barrow, Alaska (71°N, 156°W) at four locations. A total of 194 solitary, small (0.2–1.1 mm) elongated specimens of a previously unknown interstitial hydroid taxon were found. By cnidome composition and the occurrence of a highly retractable pedal disc formed by epidermal tissue only, the specimens are tentatively assigned to representatives of the family Protohydridae, subclass Anthomedusae. The hydroids were found almost exclusively in the bottom 10 cm-layer (at the ice–water interface) of 118 ice cores, with abundances ranging from 0 to 27 individuals per core section (0–4,244 ind m−2) and a grand mean of 269 ind m−2 in bottom 10 cm-layer sections. Abundances were lower in December and late May than in months in between with considerable site variability. A factor analysis using 12 variables showed that hydroid abundance correlated highest with abundances of copepod nauplii and polychaete juveniles suggesting a trophic relationship.

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Acknowledgments

The results reported here are part of studies supported by the National Science Foundation (OPP 0520566) and the Coastal Marine Institute (Task Order 85242). SP’s work on hydroid biodiversity is supported by the Italian Ministry for University and Research, the MarBEF network and the Province Administration of Lecce. We thank the director and logistics staff of the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium for their continuous logistical support during field operations. We are grateful to S. Story-Manes and M. Nielson-Kaufman for their support while in Barrow. Three reviewers are thanked for improving a previous manuscript draft. This article contributes to the Arctic Ocean Diversity Census of Marine Life project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA

    Bodil A. Bluhm & Rolf Gradinger

  2. Università degli Studi del Salento, 73100, Lecce, Italy

    Stefano Piraino

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  1. Bodil A. Bluhm
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  2. Rolf Gradinger
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  3. Stefano Piraino
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Correspondence to Bodil A. Bluhm.

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Bluhm, B.A., Gradinger, R. & Piraino, S. First record of sympagic hydroids (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria) in Arctic coastal fast ice. Polar Biol 30, 1557–1563 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0316-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0316-9

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