Colonisation of hard substrata along a channel system in the deep Greenland Sea

Schulz, M.; Bergmann, Melanie; Juterzenka, K. v.; Soltwedel, Thomas

doi:10.1007/s00300-010-0825-9

Cited by 45 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…This disturbance leads to scale-dependent recolonization of scoured areas and an increased input of dropstones (Smale and Barnes, 2008). These processes will enhance seafloor heterogeneity and create hard substrates for sessile megafauna (Schulz et al, 2010;Meyer et al 2015Meyer et al , 2016. Dropstones also create diverse microhabitats for meiofauna, allowing for greater trophic and functional diversity around stones (Hasemann et al, 2013;Gooday et al, 2015).…”

Section: The Polar Deep Seasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Major impacts of climate change on deep-sea benthic ecosystems

Sweetman

Thurber

Smith

et al. 2017

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

282

297

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The deep sea encompasses the largest ecosystems on Earth. Although poorly known, deep seafloor ecosystems provide services that are vitally important to the entire ocean and biosphere. Rising atmospheric greenhouse gases are bringing about significant changes in the environmental properties of the ocean realm in terms of water column oxygenation, temperature, pH and food supply, with concomitant impacts on deep-sea ecosystems. Projections suggest that abyssal (3000-6000 m) ocean temperatures could increase by 1°C over the next 84 years, while abyssal seafloor habitats under areas of deep-water formation may experience reductions in water column oxygen concentrations by as much as 0.03 mL L -1 by 2100. Bathyal depths (200-3000 m) worldwide will undergo the most significant reductions in pH in all oceans by the year 2100 (0.29 to 0.37 pH units). O 2 concentrations will also decline in the bathyal NE Pacific and Southern Oceans, with losses up to 3.7% or more, especially at intermediate depths. Another important environmental parameter, the flux of particulate organic matter to the seafloor, is likely to decline significantly in most oceans, most notably in the abyssal and bathyal Indian Ocean where it is predicted to decrease by 40-55% by the end of the century. Unfortunately, how these major changes will affect deep-seafloor ecosystems is, in some cases, very poorly understood. In this paper, we provide a detailed overview of the impacts of these changing environmental parameters on deep-seafloor ecosystems that will most likely be seen by 2100 in continental margin, abyssal and polar settings. We also consider how these changes may combine with other anthropogenic stressors (e.g., fishing, mineral mining, oil and gas extraction) to further impact deep-seafloor ecosystems and discuss the possible societal implications.

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Section: The Polar Deep Seasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Major impacts of climate change on deep-sea benthic ecosystems

Sweetman

Thurber

Smith

et al. 2017

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

282

297

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“…Suspension feeders are well-known to inhabit elevated substrata on seamounts ) and fjord sills (Mortensen et al 2001), and on a smaller scale, suspension-feeding foraminifera inhabit glass sponge stalks (Beaulieu 2001) and manganese nodules (Mullineaux 1988). Dropstone megafauna may gain an advantage for suspension feeding by inhabiting larger stones (Schulz et al 2010). …”

Section: Relationship Of Stone Size To the Biotic Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dropstones constitute the most common hard substrata north of 45°N in the North Atlantic (Kidd et al 1981). They are inhabited primarily by sessile, suspension-feeding invertebrates (Oschmann 1990, Schulz et al 2010) and can serve as a 'resting place' for motile fauna such as shrimps and amphipods. Dropstones increase habitat heterogeneity and megafaunal diversity where they occur (MacDonald et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rocky islands in a sea of mud: biotic and abiotic factors structuring deep-sea dropstone communities

Meyer¹,

Young²,

Sweetman³

et al. 2016

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Stones released by melting icebergs are called dropstones, and these stones constitute island-like hard-bottom habitats at high latitudes. In 2012, dropstone megafauna in the HAUSGARTEN observatory in the Fram Strait was sampled photographically. We tested the hypothesis that dropstones would have the same species distribution patterns as terrestrial islands, using 5 patterns commonly found in the classical island literature. Higher richness, diversity, and abundance of fauna occurred on larger stones and on stones near a deep-water rocky reef. These patterns can be explained by the greater surface area of larger stones, the exposure of larger stones to faster current higher in the benthic boundary layer, and increased larval supply from the rocky reef. Some pairs of morphotypes (12 pairs out of 56 morphotypes and 1540 possible pairs) co-occurred less often than expected by chance. While similar patterns have been attributed to interspecific competition in the classical island literature, we offer alternative mechanisms for dropstones. Non-random co-occurrence on dropstones may be explained by larval dispersal. Dropstone fauna had an overdispersed (clumped) distribution, so pairs of morphotypes may have negative non-random co-occurrence simply because short larval life and limited dispersal ability prevent them from having randomly overlapping distributions. In addition, we found 8 morphotype pairs that co-occurred more often than expected by chance because of epibiontism. The patterns found in dropstone communities resemble terrestrial islands, but different mechanisms may be responsible.

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“…The addition of hard substrata, in the form of dropstones, to soft-sediment dominated benthic landscapes at fjord and shelf floors enhances habitat heterogeneity, potentially influencing biodiversity. Habitat heterogeneity has been shown to increase diversity in many ecosystems, ranging from forests to abyssal plains (MacArthur & Wilson 1967, Simberloff 1974, Huston 1979, McClintock et al 2005, Schön-berg & Fromont 2012, Amon et al 2016), but the contribution of glacial debris to habitat heterogeneity has been assessed at only a few locations on continental shelves (Oschmann 1990, Starmans et al 1999, Schulz et al 2010, Meyer et al 2015, Lacharité & Metaxas 2017. On the Antarctic shelf, the most influential factors affecting benthic biodiversity are postulated to be disturbance (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Glacial dropstones: islands enhancing seafloor species richness of benthic megafauna in West Antarctic Peninsula fjords

Ziegler¹,

Smith²,

Edwards³

et al. 2017

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) margin is dominated by glaciomarine fjords and has experienced rapid climate warming in recent de cades. Glacial calving along the peninsula delivers icerafted debris (e.g. dropstones) to heavily sedimented fjord basins and the open continental shelf. Dropstones provide hard substrate, increase habitat heterogeneity, and may function as island habitats surrounded by mud. We used seafloor photographic transects to evaluate the distribution and community structure of Antarctic hard-substrate megafauna and the role of dropstones as island habitats in 3 WAP fjords and at 3 nearby shelf stations. Several lines of evidence indicate that dropstones function as island habitats; their communities adhere to principles of island biogeography theory with (1) a positive correlation between dropstone size and species richness, (2) an increase in the proportion of colonized dropstones with increasing dropstone size, and (3) a species−area scaling exponent consistent with island habitats measured globally. Previous work on the soft-sediment megafauna of this region found strong differences in community composition between fjord and shelf sites, whereas we found that dropstone communities differed within sites at small scales (1 km and smaller). We identified 73 megafaunal morphotypes associated with dropstones, 29 of which were not previously documented in the soft-sediment megafauna. While dropstones constituted <1% of the total seafloor area surveyed, they contributed 20% of the overall species richness of WAP megabenthos at depths of 437−724 m. WAP dropstone communities adhere to key principles of island biogeography theory, contribute environmental heterogeneity, and increase biodiversity in the WAP region.A rich community of megafauna inhabiting a glacial dropstone in Flandres Bay (400 m), a glaciomarine fjord on the West Antarctic Peninsula.Photo: Dr. Craig R. Smith

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Colonisation of hard substrata along a channel system in the deep Greenland Sea

Cited by 45 publications

References 38 publications

Major impacts of climate change on deep-sea benthic ecosystems

Major impacts of climate change on deep-sea benthic ecosystems

Rocky islands in a sea of mud: biotic and abiotic factors structuring deep-sea dropstone communities

Glacial dropstones: islands enhancing seafloor species richness of benthic megafauna in West Antarctic Peninsula fjords

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