Greenland whales and walruses in the Svalbard food web before and after exploitation

Between 1600 and 1900 two numerous and ecologically important large marine mammals were extirpated in the Svalbard archipelago. These were the pelagic-feeding Greenland whale (Balaena mysticetus) and the benthic-feeding walrus (Odobaenus rosmarus rosmarus), the initial stocks of which prior to exploitation are estimated to have numbered approximately 46 000 and 25 000 animals respectively. Their annual food consumption at that time is estimated to have been some 4 million tons of plankton and 0.4 million tons of benthic organisms. Assuming that the primary and secondary production of the shelf/coastal ecosystem in the 16th century (before the peak of the Little Ice Age) was similar to that of the present day, the authors have concluded that a major shift in the food web must have occurred after the Greenland whales and walruses were eliminated. Planktonivorous seabirds and polar cod (Boreogadus saida) very probably took advantage of the extirpation of the Greenland whales, while eiders (Somateria mollissima) and bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) benefited from the walrus's extinction. In turn, the increased amount of pelagic fish provided food for piscivorous alcids and gulls, and may have given rise to the huge present-day seabird colonies on Svalbard

Greenland whales and walruses in the Svalbard food web before and after exploitation

Between 1600 and 1900 two numerous and ecologically important large marine mammals were extirpated in the Svalbard archipelago. These were the pelagic-feeding Greenland whale (Balaena mysticetus) and the benthic-feeding walrus (Odobaenus rosmarus rosmarus), the initial stocks of which prior to exploitation are estimated to have numbered approximately 46 000 and 25 000 animals respectively. Their annual food consumption at that time is estimated to have been some 4 million tons of plankton and 0.4 million tons of benthic organisms. Assuming that the primary and secondary production of the shelf/coastal ecosystem in the 16th century (before the peak of the Little Ice Age) was similar to that of the present day, the authors have concluded that a major shift in the food web must have occurred after the Greenland whales and walruses were eliminated. Planktonivorous seabirds and polar cod (Boreogadus saida) very probably took advantage of the extirpation of the Greenland whales, while eiders (Somateria mollissima) and bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) benefited from the walrus's extinction. In turn, the increased amount of pelagic fish provided food for piscivorous alcids and gulls, and may have given rise to the huge present-day seabird colonies on Svalbard

Winter in a Svalbard Fiord Ecosystem

Data pertaining to the characteristics of an arctic fiord in winter were collected at the Polish Arctic Station situated in Hornsund at 77 degrees N, 15 degrees E on Svalbard. Winter in the fiord was defined in terms of climate (November-May), hydrology (January-March) and biology (November-March). The characteristic phenomena of winter in the fiord include a winter drop in the yearly biomass maximum to 0.1% for phytoplankton and 10% for zooplankton; a slowing of the growth rate among pelagic dominants such as Pseudocalanus elongatus and Calanus finmarchicus, as well as among the hyperbenthic dominants Onisimus littoralis and Mysis oculata; and heterotrophy or maintenance of metabolism among living phytoplankton cells found in the middle of the polar night in densities of 10-50 cells/L. Since the life cycles of invertebrates are highly seasonal, no winter breeders were observed and 90% of the examined species were breeding according to a K strategy. Migration takes place among all seabirds in the area, but about 1% of the eiders, fulmars and kittiwakes overwinter, feeding in the open water of polynyas and crevices in the fast ice.Key words: Arctic, winter ecology, fiord ecosystem, Svalbard, Hornsund fiordMots clés: Arctique, écologie de l’hiver, écosystème de fjord, Svalbard, fjord Hornsun

Greenland whales and walruses in the Svalbard food web before and after exploitation

Between 1600 and 1900 two numerous and ecologically important large marine mammals were extirpated in the Svalbard archipelago. These were the pelagic-feeding Greenland whale (Balaena mysticetus) and the benthic-feeding walrus (Odobaenus rosmarus rosmarus), the initial stocks of which prior to exploitation are estimated to have numbered approximately 46 000 and 25 000 animals respectively. Their annual food consumption at that time is estimated to have been some 4 million tons of plankton and 0.4 million tons of benthic organisms. Assuming that the primary and secondary production of the shelf/coastal ecosystem in the 16th century (before the peak of the Little Ice Age) was similar to that of the present day, the authors have concluded that a major shift in the food web must have occurred after the Greenland whales and walruses were eliminated. Planktonivorous seabirds and polar cod (Boreogadus saida) very probably took advantage of the extirpation of the Greenland whales, while eiders (Somateria mollissima) and bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) benefited from the walrus's extinction. In turn, the increased amount of pelagic fish provided food for piscivorous alcids and gulls, and may have given rise to the huge present-day seabird colonies on Svalbard

Meiofauna as descriptor of tourism-induced changes at sandy beaches

Tourism has long been considered as a ‘clean industry’ with almost no negative effects on the environment. This study demonstrated, in two different coastal systems (Mediterranean and Baltic), that tourism related activities are particularly affecting the sandy beach meio- and nematofauna in the upper beach zone, the specific ecotone in which many meiofauna species from both the marine and the terrestrial environment congregate. Tourist upper beaches are characterized by a lower % total organic matter (%TOM), lower densities, lower diversities (absence of Insecta, Harpacticoida, Oligochaeta, terrestrial nematodes and marine Ironidae nematodes) and higher community stress compared to nearby non-tourist locations. The %TOM was found to be the single most important factor for the observed differences in meiofauna assemblage structure at tourist versus non-tourist beaches in both the Mediterranean and the Baltic region. The free-living nematode assemblages from tourist upper zones depart significantly from expectations based on random selections from the regional nematode species pool. Furthermore upper zone assemblages are characterised by a low species diversity consisting of taxonomically closely related nematode species with r-strategist features. Generally, faunal differences between tourist and non-tourist beaches are decreasing towards the lower beach zones

Assessing inter-beach differences in semi-terrestrial arthropod assemblages on Maltese pocket sandy beaches (Central Mediterranean)

The distinctiveness of macrofaunal assemblages on different sandy beaches in the Maltese Islands was previously suggested by different single-season studies. A multi-seasonal sampling programme using pitfall trapping was implemented on four Maltese beaches to test the occurrence of this phenomenon. A total of 29,302 individuals belonging to 191 species were collected over a 2-year period, during which the beaches were sampled once per calendar season. A total of 77 species were recorded from single Maltese beaches only, of which nine were psammophiles. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analyses of pitfall trap species-abundance data resulted in a weak separation pattern, with samples grouping mainly in terms of beach and island rather than in terms of season or year of sampling, No physical variable could conclusively explain these patterns. It is concluded that although operating on Maltese beaches, macrofaunal assemblage distinctiveness is weaker than originally thought and can be attributed to the presence/absence or abundance of just a few psammophilic species. It is postulated that this phenomenon may be related to the ‘pocket beach’ nature of Maltese beaches, where headlands on either side of the beach to a large extent prevent the occurrence of longshore currents, resulting in semi-isolation of the populations of psammophilic species. A large number of single-beach records reported in this study highlight the high degree of beta diversity and spatial heterogeneity of Maltese beaches, and the conservation importance of the individual beach macrofaunal assemblages.peer-reviewe

Diversity of hard-bottom fauna relative to environmental gradients in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard

A baseline study of hard-bottom zoobenthos in relation to environmental gradients in Kongsfjorden, a glacial fjord in Svalbard, is presented, based on collections from 1996 to 1998. The total species richness in 62 samples from 0 to 30 m depth along five transects was 403 species. Because 32 taxa could not be identified to species level and because 11 species are probably new to science, the total number of identified species was 360. Of these, 47 species are new for Svalbard waters. Bryozoa was the most diverse group. Biogeographic composition revealed features of both Arctic and sub-Arctic properties of the fauna. Species richness, frequency of species occurrence, mean abundance and biomass generally decreased towards the tidal glaciers in inner Kongsfjorden. Among eight environmental factors, depth was most important for explaining variance in the composition of the zoobenthos. The diversity was consistently low at shallow depths, whereas the non-linear patterns of species composition of deeper samples indicated a transitional zone between surface and deeper water masses at 15–20 m depth. Groups of “colonial” and “non-colonial” species differed in diversity, biogeographic composition and distribution by location and depth as well as in relation to other environmental factors. “Non-colonial” species made a greater contribution than “colonial” species to total species richness, total occurrence and biomass in samples, and were more influenced by the depth gradient. Biogeographic composition was sensitive to variation of zoobenthic characteristics over the studied depth range. A list of recorded species and a description of sampling sites are presented