Abundance and biomass of macrozoobenthos in surface sediments sampled during POLARSTERN cruises PS82 and PS96 ...

• Main Authors: Pineda-Metz, Santiago E A, Gerdes, Dieter
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2019
• Subjects: Filchner; Macrobenthos; southern Weddell Sea; Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctica; Weddell Sea
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.908128; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.908128

Due to extreme pack ice, the Filchner Region in the southern Weddell Sea is one of the least studied regions on the planet. Here, we provide a detailed description of the benthic communities of this high-Antarctic ecosystem, and assess the relationship between environmental factors and benthic distribution patterns. Fieldwork was performed in the austral summers of 2013-14 and 2015-16 during the R/V 'Polarstern' cruises PS82 and PS96. Using a combination of multibox corer (MBC) and seabed image data from 37 stations (water depths 243-1217 m), we differentiated 6 station groups. While 1 of these groups was comprised of a single station, the other 5 groups represented distinct benthic communities. Three of these correspond to the previously described Eastern Shelf, Southern Shelf, and Southern Trench communities. However, we found distribution shifts and MBC abundance and biomass reductions when comparing our results with earlier studies. The other 2 groups have novel characteristics and are presented here as ... : Supplement to: Pineda-Metz, Santiago E A; Isla, Enrique; Gerdes, Dieter (2019): Benthic communities of the Filchner Region (Weddell Sea, Antarctica). Marine Ecology Progress Series, 628, 37-54 ...