Pandalid shrimps in a tidewater-glacier fjord, Aialik Bay Alaska

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1983 Vertical migration and food habits of pandalid shrimps in Aialik Bay, a tidewater-glacier fjord, were related to suspended sediment load and available food resources. Suspended sediments from subglacial streams resulted in Secchi depths of 0.4-1.0 m...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Carpenter, Terry A.
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 1983
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11122/5212
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Summary:Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1983 Vertical migration and food habits of pandalid shrimps in Aialik Bay, a tidewater-glacier fjord, were related to suspended sediment load and available food resources. Suspended sediments from subglacial streams resulted in Secchi depths of 0.4-1.0 m near the glacier, increasing with distance from the glacier to 1.0-5.0 m near the sill. A large proportion of the Pandalus borealis and P. goniurus populations responded to reduced light in the upper bay by remaining in midwater throughout the day and night. Shrimp food resources, represented by zooplankton and benthos, were reduced in abundance and diversity near the glacier as compared to the region near the sill. Shrimps fed more intensively near or at the bottom than in midwater. The most common items in stomachs of P. borealis were unidentifiable organic matter (84.5%), sediment (83.1%), crustacean fragments (60.9%), identified crustaceans (16.9%), mollusks (16.3%), foraminiferans (15.1%), and plant material (10.0%).