Isotope data of deep sea fauna, organic matter and sediment of a sponge ground on an Arctic North Atlantic seamount ...

Sponge grounds are hotspots of biomass and biodiversity in the otherwise barren deep sea. It remains unknown how these ecosystems can thrive in such food limited environments, since organic matter settling from the surface ocean covers only small parts of their carbon demand. In this study, the food...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hanz, Ulrike, Mienis, Furu, Riekenberg, Philip
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA 2020
Subjects:
amino acids
deep-sea sponge grounds
fatty acids
Food web
stable isotope analysis
Bottom lander
Remote operated vehicle
GS2016109A
GS2017110
GS2018108
G. O. Sars 2003
Deep-sea Sponge Grounds Ecosystems of the North Atlantic SponGES
North Atlantic
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.923765
https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.923765
Description
Summary:Sponge grounds are hotspots of biomass and biodiversity in the otherwise barren deep sea. It remains unknown how these ecosystems can thrive in such food limited environments, since organic matter settling from the surface ocean covers only small parts of their carbon demand. In this study, the food-web interactions and potential food sources of a North Atlantic deep-sea sponge reef were identified by bulk and compound-specific stable isotope analysis of amino and fatty acids. The elevated bulk δ15N values of sponges with relatively low abundance of associated microbes (LMA) is in line with a position at the top of the benthic food web, while the relatively high δ13C and intermediate δ15N values of high microbial abundance (HMA) sponges suggest considerable reliance on an alternate resource. Trophic positions based on amino acid δ15N values placed HMA sponges at the base of the food web. Fatty acid analysis of δ13C indicated transfer of sponge derived organic matter to the wider food web. Our results show ...

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