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Benthic infaunal community variability on the northern Svalbard shelf

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Abstract

Marine benthic communities are effective indicators of environmental change. Yet in the Arctic, there are few empirical tests of how sustained climatic change may influence community structure. Northern Svalbard is influenced by both warm Atlantic and cold Arctic water masses, providing an opportunity to assess potential effects of long-term environmental changes by examining spatial variation in community structure. We examined benthic macroinfaunal communities and sediment pigments under Atlantic and Arctic water masses on the northern shelf and fjords of Svalbard. We report on infaunal biomass, abundance, species composition, and diversity at 10 stations spanning 79°–81°N and ranging in depth from 200 to 500 m. Benthic biomass averaged 128 g WW m−2 (48–253 g WW m−2), mean density was 3,635 ind. m−2 (780–7,660 ind. m−2), and species richness varied from 45 to 136 taxa stn.−1. Abundance-based community structure clustered stations in groups related to water mass characteristics, with Atlantic and Arctic shelf stations being well distinguished from each other. Dominant taxa were different in Atlantic- and Arctic-influenced locations. Faunal biomass was highest in the Atlantic-influenced fjords, followed by Arctic fjords and Arctic shelf stations, with Atlantic shelf stations having the lowest biomass. Species richness and diversity were inversely related to biomass. Patterns in faunal biomass were strongly correlated with sedimentary pigments (R 2 = 0.74 for chl a and R 2 = 0.77 for phaeopigments), with large differences in sedimentary pigment concentration among stations. These relationships suggest that benthic fauna on the northern Svalbard shelf are food limited and dependent on predictable, albeit episodic, delivery of organic matter from the water column.

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Acknowledgments

Principal funding was provided by the Research Council of Norway through the NORKLIMA program (Project No. 150356-S30 to MLC). WGA was supported by the National Science Foundation (Grant number OPP-0514115). We thank the captains and crews of the R/V ‘Jan Mayen’ and ‘Lance.’ We also acknowledge the efforts of numerous sorters and taxonomic specialists at Akvaplan-niva for processing the samples. H. Trannum compiled the species lists, V. Savinov prepared the map, and A.S. Aniceto compiled the references. Comments by Janne Søreide, Melanie Bergmann, and 2 anonymous reviewers substantially improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Akvaplan-niva, Fram Centre for Climate and Environment, 9296, Tromsø, Norway

    Michael L. Carroll & William G. Ambrose Jr.

  2. Department of Biology, Bates College, Lewiston, ME, 04240, USA

    William G. Ambrose Jr.

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  1. Michael L. Carroll
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  2. William G. Ambrose Jr.
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Correspondence to Michael L. Carroll.

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Carroll, M.L., Ambrose, W.G. Benthic infaunal community variability on the northern Svalbard shelf. Polar Biol 35, 1259–1272 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-012-1171-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-012-1171-x

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