Distribution and Abundance of Kelp in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea
ABSTRACT. Seventeen stations on five transects near Prudhoe Bay were quantitatively sampled for kelp. The easternmost transect was located along the fringe of the Boulder Patch, an area of cobbles and boulders supporting a dense kelp community. The transects progressed westwards for 26 km. Low densi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.532.1224 http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic38-1-18.pdf |
| Summary: | ABSTRACT. Seventeen stations on five transects near Prudhoe Bay were quantitatively sampled for kelp. The easternmost transect was located along the fringe of the Boulder Patch, an area of cobbles and boulders supporting a dense kelp community. The transects progressed westwards for 26 km. Low densities of Laminario solidwguh and L saccharina were found throughout he area. Approximately one-half of the specimens were at-tached, usually to a pebble or shell buried in the sand-silt substrate. Kelp was most abundant in depths of 4-7 m. No density gradient from the Boulder Patch was found within the study area. Kelp may exist over additional areas of the Beaufort Sea in sufiCient numbers to affect faunal diversity and biomass. Key words: kelp, Luminaria solidungula. Laminaria sacchanna, Boulder Patch RI?SUM@. Des Bchantillons furent prt?lev&s A dix-sept stations sur cinq lignes de sectionnement p&s de la baie Prudhoe afin d’y &miner la quan-tit6 de varech. La section la plus A l’est &ait situ & le long du “Boulder Patch”, un terrain couvert de grosses pierres et de galets et supportant une dense communautt? de varech. Les lignes de sectionnement continuaient vers l’ouest sur une distance de 26 km. Des quantites peu 6leveVees de Luminaria solidungula et de L. sacchanna furent trouv&s partout dans la dgion. Environ la moitit? des swimens 6taient rattach & B quelque chose, d‘habitude B des pierres ou des coquilles enterr&s dans le substrat de sable et de vase. Le varech apparaissait en quantitt plus abondante a une pro-fondeur d’entre 4 et 7 m. Aucune diff6rence de densite dans le “Boulder Patch ” ne fut perçue dans l’aire d ’ h i e. II est possible que le varech existe dans d’autres r6gions de la mer de Beaufort dans des quantites pouvant toucher la diversit6 de la faune et la biomasse. Mots cl&: varech, Laninaria solidungula, Laminaria sacchanna, Boulder Patch Traduit pour le journal par Maurice Guibord. |
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