Patchiness of sympagic algae and meiofauna from the fast ice of North Open Water (NOW) Polynya

• Main Authors: Józef Wiktor, Maria Szymelfenig, Instytut Oceanologii, Polska Akademia Nauk, Instytut Oceanografii, Uniwersytet Gdański
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Key words; Arctic polynya; sea−ice; algae; Arctic; Ellesmere Island; Canada; Kane; Pim Island; ice algae; Kane Basin; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.565.3290; http://www.polish.polar.pan.pl/ppr23/ppr23-175.pdf

ABSTRACT: During the spring of 1998 sympagic algae and meiofauna were studied in Ross Bay on the western coast of the Kane Basin between Ellesmere Island and Pim Island (Canada). Ice samples were collected by ice coring and the lowermost 2 cm sections were analysed. The sea−ice flora was composed of 59 taxa and was dominated by Nitzschia frigida, Navicula pelagica, Fragilariopsis oceanica and unidentified flagellates (over 60% of total number). Abundance of algae ranged from 1×109 to 3×109 cells per square meter. Sea−ice meiofauna was composed of Nematoda and Harpacticoida and was strongly domi− nated by nematodes (99.76%). Total sympagic meiofauna abundance ranged from 37.5×103 to 146.1×103 ind. and biomass from 2.88 to 8.83 mg C per m2. There was no clearly marked patchiness in the horizontal distribution of sympagic algae and meiofauna.