(Table 1) Sympagic meiofauna and amphipods inhabiting the meltponds in the Central Arctic sampled during POLARSTERN cruise ARK-XXII/2

• Main Authors: Kramer, Maike, Kiko, Rainer
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2011
• Subjects: Abundance estimate; Acoela indeterminata; Apherusa glacialis; Arctic Ocean; ARK-XXII/2; AWI; Calanoida indeterminata; Calanus spp.; Chlorophyll a; Ciliates indeterminata; Comment; Copepoda indeterminata; nauplii; Cyclopoida indeterminata; Eggs indeterminata; Eurytemora richingsi; Event label; Halectinosoma spp.; ICE; Ice station; Metridia longa; Nematoda; Nemertea; Neogloboquadrina pachyderma; Oithona cf. similis; Polarstern; Priority Programme 1158 Antarctic Research with Comparable Investigations in Arctic Sea Ice Areas; PS70/322-1; PS70/328-1; PS70/352-1; PS70/363-1; PS70/371-1; PS70 SPACE DAMOCLES; Radiolarians indeterminata; Rotifera; Salinity; Sample type; Site; SPP1158; Tisbe spp; Antarctic; Arctic; Damocles; Rotten; Antarc*; Foraminifera*; Global warming; Polar Biology; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.848479; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.848479

Meltponds on Arctic sea ice have previously been reported to be devoid of marine metazoans due to fresh-water conditions. The predominantly dark frequently also green and brownish meltponds observed in the Central Arctic in summer 2007 hinted to brackish conditions and considerable amounts of algae, possibly making the habitat suitable for marine metazoans. Environmental conditions in meltponds as well as sympagic meiofauna in new ice covering pond surfaces and in rotten ice on the bottom of ponds were studied, applying modified techniques from sea-ice and under-ice research. Due to the very porous structure of the rotten ice, the meltponds were usually brackish to saline, providing living conditions very similar to sub-ice water. The new ice cover on the surface had similar characteristics as the bottom layer of level ice. The ponds were thus accessible to and inhabitable by metazoans. The new ice cover and the rotten ice were inhabited by various sympagic meiofauna taxa, predominantly ciliates, rotifers, acoels, nematodes and foraminiferans. Also, sympagic amphipods were found on the bottom of meltponds. We suggest that, in consequence of global warming, brackish and saline meltponds are becoming more frequent in the Arctic, providing a new habitat to marine metazoans.