10 research outputs found
Looking at the soft-bottom around a coastal coral reef: the impact of terrigenous input on Polychaeta (Annelida) community
Evidence for episodic recruitment in a small opheliid polychaete species from the abyssal NE Atlantic
The abundance and size spectra of an infaunal opheliid polychaete species was followed over a two year period (September 1996-October 1998) in meiofaunal-(32 ”m-1 mm) and macrofaunal -(> 250 ”m) samples collected at an abyssal site (4850 m depth) in the NE Atlantic. The site, situated on the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP), is characterised by the episodic deposition of aggregated phytodetritus. The response of the fauna to this seasonal food supply was addressed by time-series sampling within the MAST-III BENGAL programme. In autumn 1996, small opheliid juveniles (mean length: 281 ”m in September and 254 ”m in October) were sampled only in the meiofauna samples. In March 1997, juvenile specimens of the opheliid, which were on average nearly twice as large (mean length: 480 ”m) as those collected in 1996 were sampled in both both meio- and macrofaunal samples. The occurrence of only small juvenile individuals in 1996 suggests that a synchronous recruitment event had taken place earlier during that year. Small juveniles (mean length: 252 ”m) were also abundant in a sample collected at the PAP site in May 1991, immediately following the deposition of a pulse of phytodetritus. The opheliid population structure in 1997 and 1998 indicates the slow progression of the settled cohort, possibly supplemented by a further, but relatively minor recruitment event in March 1998. Size spectra analysis implies that either growth was slow or that immigration of larger juveniles had augmented the population. The PAP opheliid may be an opportunist, which waits for optimal conditions before converting its slowly accumulated energy into reproduction. In addition, this species can apparently maintain a stable pool of developing juveniles if the organic pulse fails to materialise. The present study also shows that a more holistic approach is necessary to investigate the life cycles of some organisms, which lie close to the boundary between the meiofauna and macrofauna
Spatial distribution patterns in macrobenthos along a latitudinal transect at the deep-sea observatory HAUSGARTEN
Biodiversity patterns, environmental drivers and indicator species on a high-temperature hydrothermal edifice, Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Community structure and diversity of polychaetes (Annelida) in the deep Weddell Sea (Southern Ocean) and adjacent basins
Enhancement of the benthic communities around an isolated island in the Antarctic Ocean
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