ARCTIC Distribution, Abundance and Diversity of Benthic Macroinvertebrates on the Canadian Continental Shelf and Slope

• Main Authors: Of Southern Davis Strait, Ungava Bay, Patrick L. Stewart, Richard A. Cunjakiv
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Mots cl; marin; benthos; invertkbr6s; distribution; plateau; versant; dbtroit de Davis; baie d’Ungava; subarctique; Arctic; Baffin Island; Labrador Shelf; Ungava Bay; Baffin; subarctique*
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.496.6799; http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic38-4-281.pdf

ABSTRACT. Stations in a survey of benthic invertebrates on the Canadian continental shelf and slope of southeastern Baffin Island, in Ungava Bay, and on the northern Labrador Shelf, fell into definite groups as a result of an objective analysis of similarity in species composition. The groupings were shown to correspond to major water masses in the area. Groups corresponding to cold surface water masses, to the deep Irminger Atlantic water mass, and to mixtures of these with adjacent water masses were observed. The Irminger Atlantic group dominated on the Baffin Island continental shelf. Species diversity, also measured in the study, was high, with large numbers of species present in low abundance.