Abstract
A series of three fronts divides the continental shelf of the southeastern Bering Sea into two interfrontal zones which contain different food webs. Large stocks of birds, mammals, and pelagic fish, primarily walleye pollock, occur in the outer shelf zone between the 200 meter isobath and the middle front near the 100 meter isobath. Large stocks of benthic infauna, demersal fish, and crabs occur in the middle shelf zone between the middle front and the inner front at the 50 meter isobath. Very low cross-shelf advection and the presence of the middle front which acts as a diffusion barrier restrict large oceanic herbivores to the outer shelf zone. Large diatoms are not grazed by the small coastal herbivores which inhabit the middle shelf zone, resulting in an accumulation of phytoplankton biomass which settles to the benthos.
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Iverson, R.L. et al. (1979). Ecological Significance of Fronts in the Southeastern Bering Sea. In: Livingston, R.J. (eds) Ecological Processes in Coastal and Marine Systems. Marine Science, vol 10. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-9146-7_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-9146-7_19
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