Shallow-Water Scavengers of Polar Night and Day – An Arctic Time-Lapse Photography Study
Until recently, polar night constituted truly a “mare incognitum” of our times. Yet, the first records from this very little-explored period showcased a surprisingly rich and active ecosystem. This investigation aims to reveal the level of scavenger activity during both Arctic polar night and day. I...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.656772 https://doaj.org/article/53c55de657144bf2b241e71def9ed826 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:53c55de657144bf2b241e71def9ed826 2023-05-15T14:53:08+02:00 Shallow-Water Scavengers of Polar Night and Day – An Arctic Time-Lapse Photography Study Piotr Balazy Marti J. Anderson Maciej Chelchowski Maria Włodarska-Kowalczuk Piotr Kuklinski Jørgen Berge 2021-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.656772 https://doaj.org/article/53c55de657144bf2b241e71def9ed826 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.656772/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.656772 https://doaj.org/article/53c55de657144bf2b241e71def9ed826 Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 8 (2021) decomposition carrion necrophage time lapse image analysis SCUBA Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.656772 2022-12-31T09:13:19Z Until recently, polar night constituted truly a “mare incognitum” of our times. Yet, the first records from this very little-explored period showcased a surprisingly rich and active ecosystem. This investigation aims to reveal the level of scavenger activity during both Arctic polar night and day. It compares the shallow-water scavenging fauna observed during two contrasting seasons (winter vs. summer) in a high Arctic fjord (Kongsfjorden, 79° N, Spitsbergen, Svalbard Archipelago). In each of January and July 2015, two different bait types – Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and a bird carcass (chicken meat) were deployed at a depth of 12 m. Fauna were monitored remotely using time-lapse cameras equipped with bait traps, with photographs taken every 15 min over a period of 4 days. Thirty taxa were recorded at baits, dominated by lysianassid amphipods (Onisimus sp. 88%, Anonyx sp. 2%, but only during winter), and buccinid gastropods (B. undatum 5%, B. glaciale 1%, Buccinum sp. 3%, in both seasons). In most cases, buccinids were the first animals to appear at bait. The total number of recorded taxa, mean species richness per sampling unit, total abundance and associations among taxa were higher, on average, in winter than in summer deployments, while Pielou’s evenness index showed the opposite pattern. Scavenger assemblages differed significantly between the two seasons and also in response to the two different bait types, with seasonal effects being strongest. Contrary to expectations, bait consumption rates differed very little between the two seasons, being slow in general and only slightly faster in summer (0.05 g of cod bait consumed in 1 min) compared to winter (0.04 g min–1), yielding novel insights into ecological interactions and functions in shallow marine ecosystems during Arctic polar nights. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic atlantic cod Gadus morhua Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden polar night Svalbard Spitsbergen Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago Frontiers in Marine Science 8 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
decomposition carrion necrophage time lapse image analysis SCUBA Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
decomposition carrion necrophage time lapse image analysis SCUBA Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Piotr Balazy Marti J. Anderson Maciej Chelchowski Maria Włodarska-Kowalczuk Piotr Kuklinski Jørgen Berge Shallow-Water Scavengers of Polar Night and Day – An Arctic Time-Lapse Photography Study |
topic_facet |
decomposition carrion necrophage time lapse image analysis SCUBA Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
Until recently, polar night constituted truly a “mare incognitum” of our times. Yet, the first records from this very little-explored period showcased a surprisingly rich and active ecosystem. This investigation aims to reveal the level of scavenger activity during both Arctic polar night and day. It compares the shallow-water scavenging fauna observed during two contrasting seasons (winter vs. summer) in a high Arctic fjord (Kongsfjorden, 79° N, Spitsbergen, Svalbard Archipelago). In each of January and July 2015, two different bait types – Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and a bird carcass (chicken meat) were deployed at a depth of 12 m. Fauna were monitored remotely using time-lapse cameras equipped with bait traps, with photographs taken every 15 min over a period of 4 days. Thirty taxa were recorded at baits, dominated by lysianassid amphipods (Onisimus sp. 88%, Anonyx sp. 2%, but only during winter), and buccinid gastropods (B. undatum 5%, B. glaciale 1%, Buccinum sp. 3%, in both seasons). In most cases, buccinids were the first animals to appear at bait. The total number of recorded taxa, mean species richness per sampling unit, total abundance and associations among taxa were higher, on average, in winter than in summer deployments, while Pielou’s evenness index showed the opposite pattern. Scavenger assemblages differed significantly between the two seasons and also in response to the two different bait types, with seasonal effects being strongest. Contrary to expectations, bait consumption rates differed very little between the two seasons, being slow in general and only slightly faster in summer (0.05 g of cod bait consumed in 1 min) compared to winter (0.04 g min–1), yielding novel insights into ecological interactions and functions in shallow marine ecosystems during Arctic polar nights. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Piotr Balazy Marti J. Anderson Maciej Chelchowski Maria Włodarska-Kowalczuk Piotr Kuklinski Jørgen Berge |
author_facet |
Piotr Balazy Marti J. Anderson Maciej Chelchowski Maria Włodarska-Kowalczuk Piotr Kuklinski Jørgen Berge |
author_sort |
Piotr Balazy |
title |
Shallow-Water Scavengers of Polar Night and Day – An Arctic Time-Lapse Photography Study |
title_short |
Shallow-Water Scavengers of Polar Night and Day – An Arctic Time-Lapse Photography Study |
title_full |
Shallow-Water Scavengers of Polar Night and Day – An Arctic Time-Lapse Photography Study |
title_fullStr |
Shallow-Water Scavengers of Polar Night and Day – An Arctic Time-Lapse Photography Study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Shallow-Water Scavengers of Polar Night and Day – An Arctic Time-Lapse Photography Study |
title_sort |
shallow-water scavengers of polar night and day – an arctic time-lapse photography study |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.656772 https://doaj.org/article/53c55de657144bf2b241e71def9ed826 |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago |
genre |
Arctic atlantic cod Gadus morhua Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden polar night Svalbard Spitsbergen |
genre_facet |
Arctic atlantic cod Gadus morhua Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden polar night Svalbard Spitsbergen |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 8 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.656772/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.656772 https://doaj.org/article/53c55de657144bf2b241e71def9ed826 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.656772 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
8 |
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1766324549256740864 |