Heterogeneity on the abyssal plains: A case study in the Bering Sea
The abyssal plains are vast areas without large scale relief that occupy much of the ocean floor. Although long considered relatively featureless, they are now known to display substantial biological heterogeneity across different spatial scales. Ecological research in these regions benefits increas...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3048816 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1037482 |
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ftimr:oai:imr.brage.unit.no:11250/3048816 2023-05-15T15:43:32+02:00 Heterogeneity on the abyssal plains: A case study in the Bering Sea Sigwart, Julia D. Brandt, Angelika Di Franco, Davide Escobar-Briones, Elva Gerken, Sarah Gooday, Andrew J. Grimes, Candace J. Gluchowska, Kamila Hoffmann, Sven Jazdzewska, Anna Maria Kamyab, Elham Kelch, Andreas Knauber, Henry Kohlenbach, Katharina Miguez-Salas, Olmo Moreau, Camille Ogawa, Akito Poliseno, Angelo Santin Muriel, Andreu Tandberg, Anne Helene Solberg Theising, Franziska I Walter, Thomas Wölfl, Anne-Cathrin Chen, Chong 2023 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3048816 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1037482 eng eng urn:issn:2296-7745 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3048816 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1037482 cristin:2113875 Frontiers in Marine Science Peer reviewed Journal article 2023 ftimr https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1037482 2023-02-13T09:34:21Z The abyssal plains are vast areas without large scale relief that occupy much of the ocean floor. Although long considered relatively featureless, they are now known to display substantial biological heterogeneity across different spatial scales. Ecological research in these regions benefits increasingly from non-destructive visual sampling of epifaunal organisms with imaging technology. We analysed images from ultra-high-definition towed camera transects at depths of around 3500 m across three stations (100–130 km apart) in the Bering Sea, to ask whether the density and distribution of visible epifauna indicated any substantial heterogeneity. We identified 71 different megafaunal taxa, of which 24 occurred at only one station. Measurements of the two most abundant faunal elements, the holothurian Elpidia minutissima and two xenophyophores morphotypes (the more common identifiable as Syringammina limosa), indicated significant differences in local densities and patchy aggregations that were strikingly dissimilar among stations. One station was dominated by xenophyophores, one was relatively depauperate in both target taxa as well as other identified megafauna, and the third station was dominated by Elpidia. This is an unexpected level of variation within comparable transects in a well-mixed oceanic basin, reinforcing the emerging view that abyssal habitats encompass biological heterogeneity at similar spatial scales to terrestrial continental realms. publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Bering Sea Institute for Marine Research: Brage IMR Bering Sea Frontiers in Marine Science 9 |
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Open Polar |
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Institute for Marine Research: Brage IMR |
op_collection_id |
ftimr |
language |
English |
description |
The abyssal plains are vast areas without large scale relief that occupy much of the ocean floor. Although long considered relatively featureless, they are now known to display substantial biological heterogeneity across different spatial scales. Ecological research in these regions benefits increasingly from non-destructive visual sampling of epifaunal organisms with imaging technology. We analysed images from ultra-high-definition towed camera transects at depths of around 3500 m across three stations (100–130 km apart) in the Bering Sea, to ask whether the density and distribution of visible epifauna indicated any substantial heterogeneity. We identified 71 different megafaunal taxa, of which 24 occurred at only one station. Measurements of the two most abundant faunal elements, the holothurian Elpidia minutissima and two xenophyophores morphotypes (the more common identifiable as Syringammina limosa), indicated significant differences in local densities and patchy aggregations that were strikingly dissimilar among stations. One station was dominated by xenophyophores, one was relatively depauperate in both target taxa as well as other identified megafauna, and the third station was dominated by Elpidia. This is an unexpected level of variation within comparable transects in a well-mixed oceanic basin, reinforcing the emerging view that abyssal habitats encompass biological heterogeneity at similar spatial scales to terrestrial continental realms. publishedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sigwart, Julia D. Brandt, Angelika Di Franco, Davide Escobar-Briones, Elva Gerken, Sarah Gooday, Andrew J. Grimes, Candace J. Gluchowska, Kamila Hoffmann, Sven Jazdzewska, Anna Maria Kamyab, Elham Kelch, Andreas Knauber, Henry Kohlenbach, Katharina Miguez-Salas, Olmo Moreau, Camille Ogawa, Akito Poliseno, Angelo Santin Muriel, Andreu Tandberg, Anne Helene Solberg Theising, Franziska I Walter, Thomas Wölfl, Anne-Cathrin Chen, Chong |
spellingShingle |
Sigwart, Julia D. Brandt, Angelika Di Franco, Davide Escobar-Briones, Elva Gerken, Sarah Gooday, Andrew J. Grimes, Candace J. Gluchowska, Kamila Hoffmann, Sven Jazdzewska, Anna Maria Kamyab, Elham Kelch, Andreas Knauber, Henry Kohlenbach, Katharina Miguez-Salas, Olmo Moreau, Camille Ogawa, Akito Poliseno, Angelo Santin Muriel, Andreu Tandberg, Anne Helene Solberg Theising, Franziska I Walter, Thomas Wölfl, Anne-Cathrin Chen, Chong Heterogeneity on the abyssal plains: A case study in the Bering Sea |
author_facet |
Sigwart, Julia D. Brandt, Angelika Di Franco, Davide Escobar-Briones, Elva Gerken, Sarah Gooday, Andrew J. Grimes, Candace J. Gluchowska, Kamila Hoffmann, Sven Jazdzewska, Anna Maria Kamyab, Elham Kelch, Andreas Knauber, Henry Kohlenbach, Katharina Miguez-Salas, Olmo Moreau, Camille Ogawa, Akito Poliseno, Angelo Santin Muriel, Andreu Tandberg, Anne Helene Solberg Theising, Franziska I Walter, Thomas Wölfl, Anne-Cathrin Chen, Chong |
author_sort |
Sigwart, Julia D. |
title |
Heterogeneity on the abyssal plains: A case study in the Bering Sea |
title_short |
Heterogeneity on the abyssal plains: A case study in the Bering Sea |
title_full |
Heterogeneity on the abyssal plains: A case study in the Bering Sea |
title_fullStr |
Heterogeneity on the abyssal plains: A case study in the Bering Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Heterogeneity on the abyssal plains: A case study in the Bering Sea |
title_sort |
heterogeneity on the abyssal plains: a case study in the bering sea |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3048816 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1037482 |
geographic |
Bering Sea |
geographic_facet |
Bering Sea |
genre |
Bering Sea |
genre_facet |
Bering Sea |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
op_relation |
urn:issn:2296-7745 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3048816 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1037482 cristin:2113875 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1037482 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
9 |
_version_ |
1766377709925040128 |