The impact of trawling on the epibenthic megafauna of the west Greenland shelf

Benthic habitats are important elements of polar marine environments, but can be vulnerable to anthropogenic influences such as trawling. Bottom trawling can reduce diversity and alter communities, although some habitats show resilience. The shrimp trawl fishery of West Greenland is a significant part of Greenland's economy. It operates along the west coast from the narrow rockier shelf of the south, up to deeper, muddy areas around Disko Bay. Here we use a benthic drop camera to sample 201 sites between latitudes 60–72°N and depths of 61–725m. Linear models examined relationships of taxon abundance and diversity with bottom trawling intensity and environment (depth, temperature, current, iceberg concentration). Trawling intensity is the most important factor determining the overall abundance of benthic organisms, accounting for 12–16% of variance, although environmental conditions also show significant associations. Sessile erect organisms such as corals show a significant negative response to trawling. Soft sediment communities show a higher resilience than rocky areas. On soft sediments significantly lower abundance characterises sites trawled under five years ago. On hard/mixed ground reduced abundance remains characteristic of sites trawled a decade ago. Continued monitoring of benthic habitats is an essential part of evaluating the ongoing impacts of trawl fisheries

Food spectrum and trophic position of an Arctic cephalopod, Rossia palpebrosa (Sepiolida), inferred by stomach contents and stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) analyses

Rossia palpebrosa (Sepiolida) is the most abundant nekto-benthic cephalopod in the Arctic; however, its feeding and trophic ecology are largely unknown. This work aims to assess the role of this species in Arctic ecosystems based on the contents of its stomach and analyses of δ13C and δ15N stable isotopes in its beak. The main taxa identified in the food spectrum were Crustacea (frequency of occurrence: 52.1%), followed by Polychaeta (14.6%) and fishes (6.3%). Sipuncula and Echinoidea were occasionally found and were recorded here as R. palpebrosa prey for the first time, as well as Polychaeta and Euphausiacea. A significant geographic increase in δ13C values (mean ± SE, -19.3 ± 0.2‰) from the Barents Sea to West Greenland was found, but no significant ontogenetic increase, suggesting no migrations occurred among different water masses. Values of δ15N (8.7 ± 0.2‰) and trophic level (TL; 3.6 ± 0.1) revealed significant ontogenetic increases and an absence of geographic patterns, suggesting the trophic role of this species is similar throughout the studied part of the Arctic. Stable isotope values, TL and food spectrum for R. palpebrosa are close to Arctic nekto-benthic predatory fishes and shrimps, especially Pandalus borealis. However, sepiolids prey on organisms exceeding their own size and do not scavenge. A gradual ontogenetic decrease in isotopic niche width, while increasing diversity in the food spectrum of larger specimens, was observed in R. palpebrosa. However, δ13C values, i.e. variation in primary productivity supporting food sources, were more responsible for these ontogenetic differences in niche size than δ15N value