Bioregions cannot reflect polychaete communities (functional and taxonomic groups) on the Weddell Sea Shelf

• Main Authors: Säring, Friedericke, Jerosch, Kerstin, Pehlke, Hendrik, Bick, A, Veit-Köhler, G, Link, H
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Sea ice; Southern Ocean; Weddell Sea
• Online Access: https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/58954/; https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/58954/1/Poster_SPP_2022_FS_print.pdf; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.98af1527-0611-40d0-b607-30b8125da198

Infauna (living in the sediment) are an important but also highly unknown component for the benthic ecosystem and its function in the SO (Southern Ocean). Polychaetes are dominant, specious and functional diverse benthic taxa, which reflect a abundance and distribution pattern of the infauna community [1,2]. Changing sea-ice cover will affect these communities at the seafloor [3]. Establishing efficient and sustainable management strategies require to understand fauna spatial distribution patterns and diversity. Contrarily to the traditional biodiversity research the inclusion of functional traits provides a new perspective as insights of the ecosystem functioning.