Distribution patterns and biodiversity in polychaete communities of the Weddell Sea and Antarctic Peninsula area (Southern Ocean)

• Published in: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• Main Authors: Hilbig, B., Gerdes, D., Montiel, A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2006
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Southern Ocean; Weddell Sea
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315406013610; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315406013610

During the expedition EASIZ II with RV ‘POLARSTERN’ in 1998 a multibox corer yielded 151 quantitative samples from 26 stations between 120 and 2415 m water depth for benthic community analysis. From this material a total of 235 polychaete species out of 37 families was determined. Forty-seven species are new to science. The polychaete fraction contributed 41.9% to total benthic abundance and 6.5% to total benthic biomass at these stations. Overall mean polychaete abundance (ind m −2 ) and biomass (g wet weight m −2 ) at the stations were 1617 and 49, respectively. Multidimensional scaling procedure clearly grouped the stations into south-eastern Weddell Sea shelf stations, deep-water stations, and stations mostly around the Antarctic Peninsula. Differences between these groups existed in terms of polychaete abundance and biomass as well as species composition, diversity, and evenness.