Glacier inputs influence organic matter composition and prokaryotic distribution in a high Arctic fjord (Kongsfjorden, Svalbard)

• Published in: Journal of Marine Systems
• Main Authors: Bourgeois, Solveig, Kerhervéc, Philippe, Callejae, Maria Ll., Manyc, Gaël, Morataa, Nathalie
• Other Authors: Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Environnement Marin (LEMAR) (LEMAR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (IUEM), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), School of Biological Sciences Aberdeen, University of Aberdeen, Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditérranéens (CEFREM), Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Madrid (CSIC), Akvaplan-Niva Tromsø, Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), ANR-11-PDOC-0018,ECOTAB,Effet des changements climatiques sur le benthos en Arctique(2011)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2016
• Subjects: Biopolymeric carbon; Polar zones; Pigments; ACL; Climate change; Bacteria; Biomarkers; [SDV.EE.BIO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology; environment/Bioclimatology; [SDV.MP.BAC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Bacteriology; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; Arctic; Svalbard; glacier; Kongsfjord*; Kongsfjorden
• Online Access: https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01374404; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2016.08.009

International audience With climate change, the strong seasonality and tight pelagic-benthic coupling in the Arctic is expected to change in the next few decades. It is currently unclear how the benthos will be affected by changes of environmental conditions such as supplies of organic matter (OM) from the water column. In the last decade, Kongsfjorden (79°N), a high Arctic fjord in Svalbard influenced by several glaciers and Atlantic water inflow, has been a site of great interest owing to its high sensitivity to climate change, evidenced by a reduction in ice cover and an increase in melting freshwater. To investigate how spatial and seasonal changes in vertical fluxes can impact the benthic compartment of Kongsfjorden, we studied the organic matter characteristics (in terms of quantity and quality) and prokaryotic distribution in sediments from 3 stations along a transect extending from the glacier into the outer fjord in 4 different seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter) in 2012–2013. The biochemical parameters used to describe the sedimentary organic matter were organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen, bulk stable isotope ratios, pigments (chorophyll-a and phaeopigments) and biopolymeric carbon (BPC), which is the sum of the main macromolecules, i.e. lipids, proteins and carbohydrates. Prokaryotic abundance and distribution were estimated by 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining. This study identifies a well-marked quantitative gradient of biogenic compounds throughout all seasons and also highlights a discrepancy between the quantity and quality of sedimentary organic matter within the fjord. The sediments near the glacier were organic-poor (< 0.3%OC), however the high primary productivity in the water column displayed during spring was reflected in summer sediments, and exhibited higher freshness of material at the inner station compared to the outer basin (means C-chlorophyll-a/OC ~ 5 and 1.5%, respectively). However, sediments at the glacier front were depleted in BPC (~ 0.2–0.3 mg C g− 1 ...