Abstract
MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 603:29-46 (2018) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12713 Hyperbenthic food-web structure in an Arctic fjord Maeve McGovern1,2,3,4,6,*, Jørgen Berge2,3, Beata Szymczycha5, Jan Marcin Węsławski5, Paul E. Renaud1,2 1Akvaplan-niva, Fram Centre for Climate and the Environment, 9296 Tromsø, Norway 2University of Tromsø, 9027 Tromsø, Norway 3University Centre in Svalbard, 9171 Longyearbyen, Norway 4Nord University, Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Postbox 1490, 8049 Bodø, Norway 5Institute of Oceanology PAS, ul. Powstancow Warszawy 55, 81-712 Sopot, Poland 6Present address: Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Gaustadalleen 21, 0349 Oslo, Norway *Corresponding author: maeve.mcgovern@niva.no ABSTRACT: Current knowledge of the Arctic marine ecosystem is based primarily on studies performed during the polar day on the pelagic and benthic realms. Both the polar night and the hyperbenthic layer remain as substantial knowledge gaps in our understanding of the marine system at high latitudes. This study investigated the hyperbenthic food web in Kongsfjord, a high-latitude, ice-free fjord, in September 2014 and January 2015. The hyperbenthic food web was analyzed using a multi-biomarker approach including stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen as well as fatty acid profiles of a variety of hyperbenthic taxa. While results suggested no difference in biomarker composition between September and January, they indicated a division in the sampled hyperbenthic species assemblage between pelagic and benthic feeders in both sampling periods. The presence of these 2 food-web pathways may have implications for maintaining higher trophic levels through the polar night, thereby enhancing stability in the Kongsfjord system. KEY WORDS: Hyperbenthos · Suprabenthos · Benthic-boundary layer zooplankton · Kongsfjord · Stable isotopes · Fatty acids · Benthic-pelagic coupling Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: McGovern M, Berge J, Szymczycha B, Weęsławski JM, Renaud PE (2018) Hyperbenthic food-web structure in an Arctic fjord. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 603:29-46. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12713 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 603. Online publication date: September 17, 2018 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2018 Inter-Research.
Highlights
Arctic food web Knowledge of food-web structure, including the length, connectivity, and primary sources of trophic pathways, is important for our understanding of ecosystem function
In the Arctic, food-web studies using stable isotopes and fatty acids have demonstrated the importance of alternative carbon sources and pelagic−benthic coupling, and have identified regional differences in carbon sources for benthic communities (Renaud et al 2011, 2015, Kedra et al 2012)
Values in decapods ranged from −21.7 ‰ in the small size fraction of Pandalus borealis to −20.8 ‰ in the large size fraction of P. borealis in September and from −21.5 ‰ in the small size fraction of P. borealis to −19.3 ‰ in Sabinea septemcarinata in January
Summary
Arctic food web Knowledge of food-web structure, including the length, connectivity, and primary sources of trophic pathways, is important for our understanding of ecosystem function. In the Arctic, food-web studies using stable isotopes and fatty acids have demonstrated the importance of alternative carbon sources and pelagic−benthic coupling, and have identified regional differences in carbon sources for benthic communities (Renaud et al 2011, 2015, Kedra et al 2012). Due to the episodic nature of phytoplankton production at high latitudes, the spring bloom often provides more organic carbon than herbivorous zooplankton can consume, and many phytoplankton cells sink to the benthos where they maintain a flourishing benthic community (Morata & Renaud 2008). The significant transfer of organic matter and its efficient assimilation by the benthic community (Grebmeier & Barry 1991, Ambrose & Renaud 1995) leads to tight pelagic−benthic coupling in Arctic ecosystems. Organic matter may be stored as benthic biomass, used for growth and reproduction, respired and remineralized into CO2 and dissolved organic carbon, or buried and sequestered in the sediments
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