Ecology of bathyal polychaete fauna at an Arctic-Atlantic boundary (Faroe-Shetland Channel, North-east Atlantic)
By reference to a series of 15 sampling stations spanning the West Shetland Slope ( 150 - 1000 m; Faroe - Shetland Channel, North-east Atlantic) we examined the potential environmental controls on the standing stock, diversity and composition of the polychaete fauna. In contrast to the majority of s...
Published in: | Marine Biology Research |
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Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2005
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/676752a8-10cd-4d39-9eb4-389b4cdd7189 https://doi.org/10.1080/17451000510018971 |
Summary: | By reference to a series of 15 sampling stations spanning the West Shetland Slope ( 150 - 1000 m; Faroe - Shetland Channel, North-east Atlantic) we examined the potential environmental controls on the standing stock, diversity and composition of the polychaete fauna. In contrast to the majority of studied bathyal environments, the Faroe - Shetland Channel has a highly complex and dynamic hydrographic regime, particularly notable for extreme thermal variability at mid-slope depths (i.e. 7 degrees C range at ca. 500 m). Contrary to general expectation, polychaete biomass increased ( rather than decreased) with depth. Species diversity exhibited a parabolic pattern with depth, maximum diversity occurring at depths of 350 - 550 m, rather shallower than observed in other bathyal studies, and possibly linked with a maximum in habitat temperature range. Multivariate analyses of faunal composition suggested a separation of the sampling stations into a shallower and a deeper group, with temperature exerting a major control on polychaete species distributions. The decline in diversity below 600 m (i.e. the descending limb of the parabolic relationship) may be a result of historically limited immigration/recolonization of the thermally isolated Arctic deep-water basins that feed the cold-water flow through the Faroe - Shetland Channel. The bathymetric distribution of polychaetes and other benthos in this region appears to be intimately linked with the thermal regime, having a long-term impact ( geological timescales) on the deep-water species pool and leading to local enhancement of diversity where cold-and warm-water masses meet and mix. |
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