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Macrofaunal communities on the continental shelf off Victoria Land, Ross Sea, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2011

Peter Rehm ,
Rachel A. Hooke  and
Sven Thatje
Peter Rehm*
Affiliation:
Animal Physiology, Biozentrum Grindel, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany
Rachel A. Hooke
Affiliation:
School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Sven Thatje
Affiliation:
School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
*
peter.rehm@uni-hamburg.de
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Abstract

In austral summer 2004 benthic macrofauna was sampled along a latitudinal gradient along the northern Victoria Land coast (Ross Sea). An Agassiz trawl was used for semi-quantitative data collection of macrozoobenthos at depths from 84 to 537 m. Multivariate analysis of abundance of higher taxonomic units discriminated between the four sample sites along the latitudinal gradient. A SIMPROF analysis emphasized these geographical clusters, as the samples showed no significant differences within each cluster. A change in community structure with depth was not observed. The dominant taxonomic groups along the Victoria Land coast were Echinodermata (39%), Arthropoda (24%), Polychaeta (14%), and Mollusca (12%), not accounting for colonial organisms. Thus, the overall structure of the benthic community off the Victoria Land coast is comparable to other Antarctic regions and shows a closer relationship to the eastern Weddell Sea shelf, which may be attributable to the extensive impact of grounded ice affecting both areas.

Keywords

Agassiz trawlcluster analysismacrozoobenthosSIMPROFlatitudinal gradient
Type
Biological Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 23 , Issue 5 , October 2011 , pp. 449 - 455
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2011

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