High Abundance of the Epibenthic Trachymedusa Ptychogastria polaris Allman, 1878 (Hydrozoa, Trachylina) in Subpolar Fjords along the West Antarctic Peninsula.
Medusae can be conspicuous and abundant members of seafloor communities in deep-sea benthic boundary layers. The epibenthic trachymedusa, Ptychogastria polaris Allman, 1878 (Hydrozoa: Trachylina: Ptychogastriidae) occurs in the cold, high latitude systems of both the northern and southern hemisphere...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f24689b74d4d4ce19cfab4846fc80e4a 2023-05-15T13:58:10+02:00 High Abundance of the Epibenthic Trachymedusa Ptychogastria polaris Allman, 1878 (Hydrozoa, Trachylina) in Subpolar Fjords along the West Antarctic Peninsula. Laura J Grange Craig R Smith Dhugal J Lindsay Bastian Bentlage Marsh J Youngbluth 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0168648 https://doaj.org/article/f24689b74d4d4ce19cfab4846fc80e4a EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5214585?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0168648 https://doaj.org/article/f24689b74d4d4ce19cfab4846fc80e4a PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 1, p e0168648 (2017) Medicine R Science Q article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0168648 2022-12-31T13:53:39Z Medusae can be conspicuous and abundant members of seafloor communities in deep-sea benthic boundary layers. The epibenthic trachymedusa, Ptychogastria polaris Allman, 1878 (Hydrozoa: Trachylina: Ptychogastriidae) occurs in the cold, high latitude systems of both the northern and southern hemispheres, with a circumpolar distribution in Arctic and sub-Arctic areas, and disjunct reports of a few individuals from Antarctica. In January-February 2010, during benthic megafaunal photosurveys in three subpolar fjords along the West Antarctic Peninsula (Andvord, Flandres and Barilari Bays), P. polaris was recorded in Antarctic Peninsula waters. The trachymedusa, identified from megacore-collected specimens, was a common component of the epifauna in the sediment floored basins at 436-725 m depths in Andvord and Flandres Bays, reaching densities up to 13 m-2, with mean densities in individual basins ranging from 0.06 to 4.19 m-2. These densities are 2 to 400-fold higher than previously reported for P. polaris in either the Arctic or Antarctic. This trachymedusa had an aggregated distribution, occurring frequently in Andvord Bay, but was often solitary in Flandres Bay, with a distribution not significantly different from random. Epibenthic individuals were similar in size, typically measuring 15-25 mm in bell diameter. A morphologically similar trachymedusa, presumably the same species, was also observed in the water column near the bottom in all three fjords. This benthopelagic form attained abundances of up to 7 m-2 of seafloor; however, most P. polaris (~ 80%), were observed on soft sediments. Our findings indicate that fjords provide a prime habitat for the development of dense populations of P. polaris, potentially resulting from high and varied food inputs to the fjord floors. Because P. polaris resides in the water column and at the seafloor, large P. polaris populations may contribute significantly to pelagic-benthic coupling in the WAP fjord ecosystems. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Andvord ENVELOPE(-62.616,-62.616,-64.833,-64.833) Andvord Bay ENVELOPE(-62.650,-62.650,-64.833,-64.833) Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Arctic Barilari ENVELOPE(-64.700,-64.700,-65.916,-65.916) Flandres ENVELOPE(-63.417,-63.417,-65.033,-65.033) Flandres Bay ENVELOPE(-63.312,-63.312,-65.040,-65.040) PLOS ONE 12 1 e0168648 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Laura J Grange Craig R Smith Dhugal J Lindsay Bastian Bentlage Marsh J Youngbluth High Abundance of the Epibenthic Trachymedusa Ptychogastria polaris Allman, 1878 (Hydrozoa, Trachylina) in Subpolar Fjords along the West Antarctic Peninsula. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Medusae can be conspicuous and abundant members of seafloor communities in deep-sea benthic boundary layers. The epibenthic trachymedusa, Ptychogastria polaris Allman, 1878 (Hydrozoa: Trachylina: Ptychogastriidae) occurs in the cold, high latitude systems of both the northern and southern hemispheres, with a circumpolar distribution in Arctic and sub-Arctic areas, and disjunct reports of a few individuals from Antarctica. In January-February 2010, during benthic megafaunal photosurveys in three subpolar fjords along the West Antarctic Peninsula (Andvord, Flandres and Barilari Bays), P. polaris was recorded in Antarctic Peninsula waters. The trachymedusa, identified from megacore-collected specimens, was a common component of the epifauna in the sediment floored basins at 436-725 m depths in Andvord and Flandres Bays, reaching densities up to 13 m-2, with mean densities in individual basins ranging from 0.06 to 4.19 m-2. These densities are 2 to 400-fold higher than previously reported for P. polaris in either the Arctic or Antarctic. This trachymedusa had an aggregated distribution, occurring frequently in Andvord Bay, but was often solitary in Flandres Bay, with a distribution not significantly different from random. Epibenthic individuals were similar in size, typically measuring 15-25 mm in bell diameter. A morphologically similar trachymedusa, presumably the same species, was also observed in the water column near the bottom in all three fjords. This benthopelagic form attained abundances of up to 7 m-2 of seafloor; however, most P. polaris (~ 80%), were observed on soft sediments. Our findings indicate that fjords provide a prime habitat for the development of dense populations of P. polaris, potentially resulting from high and varied food inputs to the fjord floors. Because P. polaris resides in the water column and at the seafloor, large P. polaris populations may contribute significantly to pelagic-benthic coupling in the WAP fjord ecosystems. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Laura J Grange Craig R Smith Dhugal J Lindsay Bastian Bentlage Marsh J Youngbluth |
author_facet |
Laura J Grange Craig R Smith Dhugal J Lindsay Bastian Bentlage Marsh J Youngbluth |
author_sort |
Laura J Grange |
title |
High Abundance of the Epibenthic Trachymedusa Ptychogastria polaris Allman, 1878 (Hydrozoa, Trachylina) in Subpolar Fjords along the West Antarctic Peninsula. |
title_short |
High Abundance of the Epibenthic Trachymedusa Ptychogastria polaris Allman, 1878 (Hydrozoa, Trachylina) in Subpolar Fjords along the West Antarctic Peninsula. |
title_full |
High Abundance of the Epibenthic Trachymedusa Ptychogastria polaris Allman, 1878 (Hydrozoa, Trachylina) in Subpolar Fjords along the West Antarctic Peninsula. |
title_fullStr |
High Abundance of the Epibenthic Trachymedusa Ptychogastria polaris Allman, 1878 (Hydrozoa, Trachylina) in Subpolar Fjords along the West Antarctic Peninsula. |
title_full_unstemmed |
High Abundance of the Epibenthic Trachymedusa Ptychogastria polaris Allman, 1878 (Hydrozoa, Trachylina) in Subpolar Fjords along the West Antarctic Peninsula. |
title_sort |
high abundance of the epibenthic trachymedusa ptychogastria polaris allman, 1878 (hydrozoa, trachylina) in subpolar fjords along the west antarctic peninsula. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0168648 https://doaj.org/article/f24689b74d4d4ce19cfab4846fc80e4a |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-62.616,-62.616,-64.833,-64.833) ENVELOPE(-62.650,-62.650,-64.833,-64.833) ENVELOPE(-64.700,-64.700,-65.916,-65.916) ENVELOPE(-63.417,-63.417,-65.033,-65.033) ENVELOPE(-63.312,-63.312,-65.040,-65.040) |
geographic |
Andvord Andvord Bay Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Arctic Barilari Flandres Flandres Bay |
geographic_facet |
Andvord Andvord Bay Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Arctic Barilari Flandres Flandres Bay |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Arctic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 1, p e0168648 (2017) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5214585?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0168648 https://doaj.org/article/f24689b74d4d4ce19cfab4846fc80e4a |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0168648 |
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PLOS ONE |
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12 |
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container_start_page |
e0168648 |
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