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Working on a baseline for the Kongsfjorden food web: production and properties of macroalgal particulate organic matter (POM)

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Abstract

Macroalgae, in particular kelps, produce a large amount of biomass in Kongsfjorden, which is to a great extent released into the water in an annual cycle. As an example, the brown alga Alaria esculenta loses its blade gradually, 3 ± 0.8 % of the blade area per day (August 2012), thereby adding to the pool of particulate organic matter (POM) in the fjord. Upon release small thallus pieces are “aging” in that they are prone to leaching and serving as substrate for microorganisms, thus turning into palatable food for suspension and bottom feeders. In order to define a macroalgal baseline for the Kongsfjorden food web, stable isotopes δ14C and δ15N were measured in individuals of A. esculenta, Saccharina latissima and Laminaria digitata directly sampled after collection and in artificially produced POM (aPOM) of A. esculenta that was allowed to age under experimental conditions. In aPOM from this species sampled in August 2012 the C/N ratios decreased between d1 and d8 of a 14-day culture period in parallel to the fading photosynthetic activity of the algal fragments as demonstrated by use of an Imaging-PAM. Microscopic observations of the aPOM in August 2012 and 2013 revealed the frequent occurrence of small brown algal endo- and epiphytes. First feeding experiments with Mysis oculata (Mysids) and Hiatella arctica (Bivalves) showed that these species can ingest macroalgal POM. The importance of kelp-derived POM for the food web is subject of the current research.

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Acknowledgments

This research was performed at the Ny Alesund International Research and Monitoring Facility on Spitsbergen (Svalbard) as part of the KOL 06 long term project. We are grateful for the logistic support from all AWIPEV teams. We wish to thank Max Schwanitz and several AWI diving teams for reliably supplying us with macroalgae. Martin Graeve and Benoit Lebreton deserve thanks for analyzing stable isotopes and for the additional effort of intercalibration. Ines Stuhldreier and Ulrike Dietrich were dedicated and cheerful student helpers at Ny Alesund. Claudia Daniel was a great relief with all the tedious laboratory work. Michael Greenacre, Paul Renaud and two more anonymous reviewers helped to improve the manuscript. We highly appreciate the time they invested and their good advice!

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Cornelia Maria Buchholz & Christian Wiencke

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  1. Cornelia Maria Buchholz
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  2. Christian Wiencke
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Correspondence to Cornelia Maria Buchholz.

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This article belongs to the special issue on the “Kongsfjorden ecosystem—new views after more than a decade of research”, coordinated by Christian Wiencke and Haakon Hop.

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Buchholz, C.M., Wiencke, C. Working on a baseline for the Kongsfjorden food web: production and properties of macroalgal particulate organic matter (POM). Polar Biol 39, 2053–2064 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1828-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1828-3

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