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Polychaete assemblages in the south-eastern Bering Sea: linkage with groundfish distribution and diet

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2010

Cynthia Yeung ,
Mei-Sun Yang  and
Robert A. McConnaughey
Cynthia Yeung*
Affiliation:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, 7600 Sand Point Way, NE Seattle, Washington 98115USA
Mei-Sun Yang
Affiliation:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, 7600 Sand Point Way, NE Seattle, Washington 98115USA
Robert A. McConnaughey
Affiliation:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, 7600 Sand Point Way, NE Seattle, Washington 98115USA
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: C. Yeung, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, 7600 Sand Point Way, NE Seattle, Washington 98115, USA email: cynthia.yeung@noaa.gov
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Abstract

Ecological information on the polychaete community may improve habitat descriptions and distribution models of commercially important species that are polychaete-feeders. This study reports on the first new observations in nearly three decades on the polychaete assemblages in the south-eastern Bering Sea. This information was used in an exploratory assessment of the association between polychaete assemblages and environmental variables that define the benthic habitat. The spatial association between polychaete assemblages and groundfish predators was also explored for insight into whether prey assemblages influence predator distribution. Canonical correspondence analysis indicates that surficial sediment is the most important factor in organizing polychaete assemblages, over other common environmental variables such as depth and temperature. Co-correspondence analysis of the distributions of groundfish species and polychaete families does not indicate that predators are associated with specific prey families. Families that are most frequent in stomach contents of some of the fish in the analysis, mainly Maldanidae and Nephtyidae, are widely distributed across the Bering Sea shelf in diverse sediment types, as are the principal polychaete-feeders in the eastern Bering Sea such as Alaska plaice (Pleuronectes quadrituberculatus) and northern rock sole (Lepidopsetta polyxystra).

Keywords

benthic habitatflatfishinfaunapreysedimentspatial associationPolychaetacommunity structure
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 90 , Issue 5 , August 2010 , pp. 903 - 917
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2010

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