An Arctic Kelp Community in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea
The discovery of the "Boulder Patch", an area of cobbles and boulders with attached kelp and invertebrate life, is reported from Stefansson Sound, near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Geophysical surveys using side-scan sonar and low-frequency recording fathometers reveal that cobbles and boulders oc...
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The Arctic Institute of North America
1982
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ftunivcalgaryojs:oai:journalhosting.ucalgary.ca:article/65407 2023-05-15T14:19:16+02:00 An Arctic Kelp Community in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea Dunton, Kenneth H. Reimnitz, Erk Schonberg, Susan 1982-01-01 application/pdf https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/65407 eng eng The Arctic Institute of North America https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/65407/49321 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/65407 ARCTIC; Vol. 35 No. 4 (1982): December: 457–571; 465-484 1923-1245 0004-0843 Kelps Marine biology Marine ecology Sea ice ecology Prudhoe Bay Alaska Stefansson Sound info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion research-article 1982 ftunivcalgaryojs 2022-03-22T21:22:31Z The discovery of the "Boulder Patch", an area of cobbles and boulders with attached kelp and invertebrate life, is reported from Stefansson Sound, near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Geophysical surveys using side-scan sonar and low-frequency recording fathometers reveal that cobbles and boulders occur in patches of various sizes and densities. Despite a seasonal influx of sediments, the Boulder Patch is a nondepositional environment. Physical disruption of cobbles and boulders by deep draft ice is minimal due to offshore islands and shoals which restrict the passage of large ice floes into Stefansson Sound. The apparent absence of similar concentrations of rocks with attached biota along the Alaskan Beaufort Sea coast is explained by the scarcity of rocks in areas protected from ice abrasion and with no net sediment deposition. In Stefansson Sound, the rocks provide a substratum for a diverse assortment of invertebrates and several species of algae. Recolonization by the biota was minimal on twelve boulders denuded and then left undisturbed for a three-year period. Sedimentation and grazing activity appear to be the major factors inhibiting recolonization. Linear growth in the kelp, Laminaria solidungula, is greatest in winter and early spring when nutrients are available for new tissue growth. The plant draws on stored food reserves to complete over 90% of its annual linear growth during the nine months of darkness under a turbid ice canopy. These reserves are accumulated by photosynthetic activity during the preceding summer. The total carbon contribution made by kelp in Steffansson Sound under these conditions is about 146 million g/yr or 7 g/m²/yr. A small percentage of this carbon is consumed directly by herbivores, but its importance to other organisms in not known and is under investigation.Key words: kelp, Laminaria solidungula, Flaxman boulders, Beaufort Sea, Boulder Patch, productivity, recolonization, geophysical surveys, side-scan sonar, lag deposits Mots clés: varech, Laminaria solidungula, grosses pierres Flaxman, mer de Beaufort, Boulder Patch, productivité, recolonisation, levées géophysiques, sonar à balayage latéral, accumulations de pierres par déflation Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Beaufort Sea Mer de Beaufort Prudhoe Bay Sea ice Alaska University of Calgary Journal Hosting Arctic Mer de Beaufort ENVELOPE(-138.005,-138.005,69.500,69.500) Stefansson ENVELOPE(-62.417,-62.417,-69.467,-69.467) Stefansson Sound ENVELOPE(-62.417,-62.417,-69.467,-69.467) ARCTIC 35 4 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Calgary Journal Hosting |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcalgaryojs |
language |
English |
topic |
Kelps Marine biology Marine ecology Sea ice ecology Prudhoe Bay Alaska Stefansson Sound |
spellingShingle |
Kelps Marine biology Marine ecology Sea ice ecology Prudhoe Bay Alaska Stefansson Sound Dunton, Kenneth H. Reimnitz, Erk Schonberg, Susan An Arctic Kelp Community in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea |
topic_facet |
Kelps Marine biology Marine ecology Sea ice ecology Prudhoe Bay Alaska Stefansson Sound |
description |
The discovery of the "Boulder Patch", an area of cobbles and boulders with attached kelp and invertebrate life, is reported from Stefansson Sound, near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Geophysical surveys using side-scan sonar and low-frequency recording fathometers reveal that cobbles and boulders occur in patches of various sizes and densities. Despite a seasonal influx of sediments, the Boulder Patch is a nondepositional environment. Physical disruption of cobbles and boulders by deep draft ice is minimal due to offshore islands and shoals which restrict the passage of large ice floes into Stefansson Sound. The apparent absence of similar concentrations of rocks with attached biota along the Alaskan Beaufort Sea coast is explained by the scarcity of rocks in areas protected from ice abrasion and with no net sediment deposition. In Stefansson Sound, the rocks provide a substratum for a diverse assortment of invertebrates and several species of algae. Recolonization by the biota was minimal on twelve boulders denuded and then left undisturbed for a three-year period. Sedimentation and grazing activity appear to be the major factors inhibiting recolonization. Linear growth in the kelp, Laminaria solidungula, is greatest in winter and early spring when nutrients are available for new tissue growth. The plant draws on stored food reserves to complete over 90% of its annual linear growth during the nine months of darkness under a turbid ice canopy. These reserves are accumulated by photosynthetic activity during the preceding summer. The total carbon contribution made by kelp in Steffansson Sound under these conditions is about 146 million g/yr or 7 g/m²/yr. A small percentage of this carbon is consumed directly by herbivores, but its importance to other organisms in not known and is under investigation.Key words: kelp, Laminaria solidungula, Flaxman boulders, Beaufort Sea, Boulder Patch, productivity, recolonization, geophysical surveys, side-scan sonar, lag deposits Mots clés: varech, Laminaria solidungula, grosses pierres Flaxman, mer de Beaufort, Boulder Patch, productivité, recolonisation, levées géophysiques, sonar à balayage latéral, accumulations de pierres par déflation |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dunton, Kenneth H. Reimnitz, Erk Schonberg, Susan |
author_facet |
Dunton, Kenneth H. Reimnitz, Erk Schonberg, Susan |
author_sort |
Dunton, Kenneth H. |
title |
An Arctic Kelp Community in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea |
title_short |
An Arctic Kelp Community in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea |
title_full |
An Arctic Kelp Community in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea |
title_fullStr |
An Arctic Kelp Community in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
An Arctic Kelp Community in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea |
title_sort |
arctic kelp community in the alaskan beaufort sea |
publisher |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
publishDate |
1982 |
url |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/65407 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-138.005,-138.005,69.500,69.500) ENVELOPE(-62.417,-62.417,-69.467,-69.467) ENVELOPE(-62.417,-62.417,-69.467,-69.467) |
geographic |
Arctic Mer de Beaufort Stefansson Stefansson Sound |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Mer de Beaufort Stefansson Stefansson Sound |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Beaufort Sea Mer de Beaufort Prudhoe Bay Sea ice Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Beaufort Sea Mer de Beaufort Prudhoe Bay Sea ice Alaska |
op_source |
ARCTIC; Vol. 35 No. 4 (1982): December: 457–571; 465-484 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_relation |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/65407/49321 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/65407 |
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ARCTIC |
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35 |
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4 |
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1766290916075634688 |