ISSN:
1432-2056
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Abstract The sub-ice habitat and fauna in the Laptev Sea and the adjacent Arctic Ocean were investigated during the “Polarstern” cruise ARK XI/1 in summer 1995. At the ice-water interface a thin thermo- and halocline developed at many stations due to melting processes. In the lower centi- to decimetres of the ice, an accumulation of organic matter was found (particulate organic carbon: 1.9 mg l−1, chl a: 3.3 μg l−1) that may have provided a food source for the fauna. The water layer directly beneath the ice was inhabited by high numbers of various nauplii (130–23911 ind. m−3), and two ecological groups, the pelagic sub-ice fauna that originates from the surface water plankton, and the sympagic sub-ice fauna that migrates into this boundary layer from the ice interior. The pelagic fauna dominated the sub-ice community both in terms of species number and abundance. Both groups mainly comprised small copepods (e.g. Oithona similis, Oncaea borealis, Pseudocalanus spp., Halectinosoma spp., Tisbe spp.), but foraminifers and pteropods, for example, also occurred regularly. Diversity was generally low. Factors influencing the composition and abundance of the sub-ice fauna were most likely water depth, salinity and sea-ice sediments.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s003000050336
