Cumacea (Crustacea; Peracarida) of the Antarctic shelf - diversity,biogeography, and phylogeny

• Other Authors: Rehm, Peter
• Language: English
• Published: Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek 2007
• Subjects: 595.376091674; Antarctic; Ross Sea; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Victoria Land; Weddell; Weddell Sea; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://webdoc.sub.gwdg.de/ebook/dissts/Bremen/Rehm2007.pdf; http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:gbv:46-diss000109173

Cumacea, Ross Sea, diversity, Weddell Sea, Victoria Land, 16s rDNA, macrozoobenthos, Peracarida, Phylogeny, cryptic species, cryptic speciation, circumantarctic species. - The crustacean order Cumacea belongs to the Peracarida and comprises an evolutionary old group with conservative morphology. Predominantly bound to soft bottom habitats in benthic marine environments they show a cosmopolitan distribution. As other Peracarida they display brood protection; juvenile stages are carried in the marsupium. It is supposed that the marsupium plays a major role in the success of this abundant and specious group of Crustacea. The Peracarida are a dominant group in Southern Ocean benthic communities. Quantitative investigations of the Ross Sea shelf fauna demonstrated that the Peracarida contribute 63% to abundance and 50% to biomass. Amphipods dominated clearly, while different sample sites yielded high dominances by Cumacea, Isopoda, and Tanaidacea. The recorded number of peracarid species from the Ross Sea is lower than in other high-Antarctic regions. The present study could show, that cumacean diversity with respect to species richness resembles that of the Weddell Sea or the East Antarctic. Species number has now increased from 13 to 34 for the Ross Sea, which highlights the requirement for choosing the appropriate sampling gear, and continued 'classical' taxonomical as well as biogeographical work. With the present study equal distribution of cumacean species with an affinity to the Magellan region in all high-Antarctic regions could be . @Bremen, Univ., Diss., 2007