Pan-Atlantic Comparison of Deep-Sea Macro- and Megabenthos
Deep-sea benthic fauna is vital for a well-functioning marine ecosystem but is increasingly under threat from a changing environment. To monitor and conserve this fauna, an understanding of their large-scale spatial and bathymetric distribution and their environmental drivers is necessary. In this s...
Published in: | Diversity |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2023
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/d15070814 |
id |
ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/1424-2818/15/7/814/ |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/1424-2818/15/7/814/ 2023-08-20T04:02:07+02:00 Pan-Atlantic Comparison of Deep-Sea Macro- and Megabenthos Karlotta Kürzel Saskia Brix Angelika Brandt Nils Brenke Peter Enderlein Huw J. Griffiths Stefanie Kaiser Jörundur Svavarsson Anne-Nina Lörz Inmaculada Frutos James Taylor Katrin Linse agris 2023-06-28 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/d15070814 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Marine Diversity https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d15070814 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Diversity; Volume 15; Issue 7; Pages: 814 species distribution patterns Atlantic Ocean Southern Ocean benthic macrofauna deep sea EBS depth gradient environmental variables Text 2023 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/d15070814 2023-08-01T10:39:25Z Deep-sea benthic fauna is vital for a well-functioning marine ecosystem but is increasingly under threat from a changing environment. To monitor and conserve this fauna, an understanding of their large-scale spatial and bathymetric distribution and their environmental drivers is necessary. In this study, we conduct a multivariate analysis on abundance benthic fauna data collected at the phylum and multitaxon levels using an epibenthic sledge (EBS) across the Atlantic, and identify the environmental factors that affect such data. Our findings show a decrease in abundance with depth in most of the Atlantic but find relatively heterogeneous abundances with depth within the Southern Ocean. Principal component analyses indicate differences in environmental conditions south of the Antarctic Polar Front (~52° S), outlining contrasts in the quantities of macronutrients and physical factors. Despite this, community composition seemed markedly similar throughout the Atlantic with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current seemingly not affecting benthic community composition for higher taxonomic levels. Those differences that did occur were largely caused by benthic chlorophyll, benthic iron, and surface silicate through a Bio-ENV. Overall, we argue that further large-scale spatial and bathymetric distribution studies are important amid environmental changes that are driving shifts in benthic community abundance and composition. Text Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean MDPI Open Access Publishing Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Diversity 15 7 814 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
MDPI Open Access Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
species distribution patterns Atlantic Ocean Southern Ocean benthic macrofauna deep sea EBS depth gradient environmental variables |
spellingShingle |
species distribution patterns Atlantic Ocean Southern Ocean benthic macrofauna deep sea EBS depth gradient environmental variables Karlotta Kürzel Saskia Brix Angelika Brandt Nils Brenke Peter Enderlein Huw J. Griffiths Stefanie Kaiser Jörundur Svavarsson Anne-Nina Lörz Inmaculada Frutos James Taylor Katrin Linse Pan-Atlantic Comparison of Deep-Sea Macro- and Megabenthos |
topic_facet |
species distribution patterns Atlantic Ocean Southern Ocean benthic macrofauna deep sea EBS depth gradient environmental variables |
description |
Deep-sea benthic fauna is vital for a well-functioning marine ecosystem but is increasingly under threat from a changing environment. To monitor and conserve this fauna, an understanding of their large-scale spatial and bathymetric distribution and their environmental drivers is necessary. In this study, we conduct a multivariate analysis on abundance benthic fauna data collected at the phylum and multitaxon levels using an epibenthic sledge (EBS) across the Atlantic, and identify the environmental factors that affect such data. Our findings show a decrease in abundance with depth in most of the Atlantic but find relatively heterogeneous abundances with depth within the Southern Ocean. Principal component analyses indicate differences in environmental conditions south of the Antarctic Polar Front (~52° S), outlining contrasts in the quantities of macronutrients and physical factors. Despite this, community composition seemed markedly similar throughout the Atlantic with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current seemingly not affecting benthic community composition for higher taxonomic levels. Those differences that did occur were largely caused by benthic chlorophyll, benthic iron, and surface silicate through a Bio-ENV. Overall, we argue that further large-scale spatial and bathymetric distribution studies are important amid environmental changes that are driving shifts in benthic community abundance and composition. |
format |
Text |
author |
Karlotta Kürzel Saskia Brix Angelika Brandt Nils Brenke Peter Enderlein Huw J. Griffiths Stefanie Kaiser Jörundur Svavarsson Anne-Nina Lörz Inmaculada Frutos James Taylor Katrin Linse |
author_facet |
Karlotta Kürzel Saskia Brix Angelika Brandt Nils Brenke Peter Enderlein Huw J. Griffiths Stefanie Kaiser Jörundur Svavarsson Anne-Nina Lörz Inmaculada Frutos James Taylor Katrin Linse |
author_sort |
Karlotta Kürzel |
title |
Pan-Atlantic Comparison of Deep-Sea Macro- and Megabenthos |
title_short |
Pan-Atlantic Comparison of Deep-Sea Macro- and Megabenthos |
title_full |
Pan-Atlantic Comparison of Deep-Sea Macro- and Megabenthos |
title_fullStr |
Pan-Atlantic Comparison of Deep-Sea Macro- and Megabenthos |
title_full_unstemmed |
Pan-Atlantic Comparison of Deep-Sea Macro- and Megabenthos |
title_sort |
pan-atlantic comparison of deep-sea macro- and megabenthos |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/d15070814 |
op_coverage |
agris |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Diversity; Volume 15; Issue 7; Pages: 814 |
op_relation |
Marine Diversity https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d15070814 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/d15070814 |
container_title |
Diversity |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
814 |
_version_ |
1774712492489965568 |