Counts of benthos communities in Kongsfjorden in 2009

• Main Authors: Laudien, Jürgen, Orchard, Julia-Berenice
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2012
• Subjects: Aplysilla sulfurea; Asteroida indeterminata; AWI_BPP; Balanus balanus; Bentho-Pelagic Processes @ AWI; Chlamys islandica; Corallinales; Crisia denticulata; DATE/TIME; DEPTH; water; Echinus esculentus; Eupagurus sp.; File name; File size; Haliclona sp.; Halocynthia pyriformis; Henricia sp.; Holothuroidea indeterminata; Hormathia sp.; Hyas araneus; Kongsfjorden_2009; Kongsfjorden; Spitsbergen; Arctic; KOP51_2009; LATITUDE; Latitude 2; Length of transect; LONGITUDE; Longitude 2; Phaeophyta indeterminata; Phakellia ventilabrum; Porifera indeterminata; Pteraster sp.; Remote operated vehicle; Reteporella beaniana; ROV; Sample code/label; Serpulidae; Solaster sp.; Strongylocentrotus sp.; Styela rustica; Tonicella sp.; Uniform resource locator/link to image; Urticinia eques; Kongsfjord*; Polar Biology
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.753197; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.753197

In order to reveal the structure of the sparsely known deeper sublittoral hard bottom communities of glacial Kongsfjorden, the macroepibenthos from six depth zones (30-200 m) was analysed. A total of 180 still images derived from 6-h video recorded at the Kongsfjordneset remotely operated vehicle station were assessed quantitatively. Overall 27 mainly suspension-feeding species/taxa were observed. Of these, two-thirds have an arcto-boreal distribution, while the remainder are cosmopolitan. The overall mean epibenthos abundance was 33 ind./m**2 with maximum values at 150 m depth (97.9 ind./m**2). The majority of the taxa inhabited the entire depth range. Encrusting red algae, an unidentified sponge and the sea anemone Urticina eques, characterized the assemblage of the shallow zone. The sea anemones Hormathia spp. were important below 30 m, the Serpulid polychaete Protula tubularia was characteristic for the community below 50 m and the demosponge Haliclona sp. was a key taxon between 100 and 200 m depth. Cluster analysis and non-metrical multidimensional scaling based on abundance data showed differences between the assemblages along the bathymetric gradient, but only in the shallower depths in relation to the substratum surface incline. As surface and tidal current impacts attenuate with increasing depth, there is a gradual trend from robust key species towards more fragile ones (i.e. P. tubularia), in line with the 'Physical control hypothesis'.