Meiobenthos of the central Arctic Ocean with special emphasis on the nematode community structure

Vanreusel, Ann; Clough, Lisa M.; Jacobsen, Kim; Ambrose, William G.; Jivaluk, Jutamas; Ryheul, Valerie; Herman, R.; Vincx, Magda

doi:10.1016/s0967-0637(00)00007-8

Cited by 92 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Nematodes have been shown to dominate polar metazoan meiofauna (Heip et al 1985;Vanhove et al 1995Vanhove et al , 1998Vanhove et al , 1999Vanhove et al , 2004Fabiano and Danovaro 1999;Lee et al 2001;De Mesel et al 2006;Ingels et al 2006;Ingole and Singh 2010;Vanreusel et al 2000;Hauquier et al 2015). In the Southern Ocean, some species might be limited to certain regions or depths, while others may have circum-Antarctic and eurybathic distributions ).…”

Section: Meiofauna From Polar Ecosystemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Southern Ocean, some species might be limited to certain regions or depths, while others may have circum-Antarctic and eurybathic distributions ). In the Central Arctic, the dominance of the nematode genus Monhystera, a detritivorous/bacterivorous deposit feeder, suggests that bacteria may play an important role in the food web of the meiofauna in this region (Vanreusel et al 2000).…”

Section: Meiofauna From Polar Ecosystemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characteristics of meiofauna in extreme marine ecosystems: a review

et al. 2017

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Extreme marine environments cover more than 50% of the Earth's surface and offer many opportunities for investigating the biological responses and adaptations of organisms to stressful life conditions. Extreme marine environments are sometimes associated with ephemeral and unstable ecosystems, but can host abundant, often endemic and welladapted meiofaunal species. In this review, we present an integrated view of the biodiversity, ecology and physiological responses of marine meiofauna inhabiting several extreme marine environments (mangroves, submarine caves, Polar ecosystems, hypersaline areas, hypoxic/anoxic environments, hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, carcasses/sunken woods, deep-sea canyons, deep hypersaline anoxic basins [DHABs] and hadal zones). Foraminiferans, nematodes and copepods are abundant in almost all of these habitats and are dominant in deep-sea ecosystems. The presence and dominance of some other taxa that are normally less common may be typical of certain extreme conditions. Kinorhynchs are particularly well adapted to cold seeps and other environments that experience drastic changes in salinity, rotifers are well represented in polar ecosystems and loriciferans seem to be the only metazoan able to survive multiple stressors in DHABs. As well as natural processes, human activities may generate stressful conditions, including deoxygenation, acidification and rises in temperature. The behaviour and physiology of different meiofaunal taxa, such as some foraminiferans, nematode and copepod species, can provide vital information on how organisms may respond to these challenges and can provide a warning signal of anthropogenic impacts. From an evolutionary perspective, the discovery of new meiofauna taxa from extreme environments very often sheds light on phylogenetic relationships, while understanding how meiofaunal organisms are able to survive or even flourish in these conditions can explain evolutionary pathways. Finally, there are multiple potential economic benefits to be gained from ecological, biological, physiological and evolutionary studies of meiofauna in extreme environments. Despite all the advantages offered by meiofauna studies from extreme environments, there is still an urgent need to foster meiofauna research in terms of composition, ecology, biology and physiology focusing on extreme environments.

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Section: Meiofauna From Polar Ecosystemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Meiofauna From Polar Ecosystemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of meiofauna in extreme marine ecosystems: a review

et al. 2017

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“…Oligotrophic conditions negatively affect macro-and meiofauna standing stock (Vincx et al, 1994;Cosson et al, 1997). Therefore, perennial or longterm ice cover in polar sea regions, which impedes or delays phytoplankton production, strongly affects the entire underlying pelagic (Arrigo et al, 2002) and benthic ecosystem (Clough et al, 1997;Kröncke et al, 2000;Vanreusel et al, 2000). However, the ocean floor below extensive ice cover is not a desert devoid of life.…”

Section: Strong Oligotrophy Under Ice: the Arctic Oceanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep, diverse and definitely different: unique attributes of the world's largest ecosystem

et al. 2010

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Abstract. The deep sea, the largest biome on Earth, has a series of characteristics that make this environment both distinct from other marine and land ecosystems and unique for the entire planet. This review describes these patterns and processes, from geological settings to biological processes, biodiversity and biogeographical patterns. It concludes with a brief discussion of current threats from anthropogenic activities to deep-sea habitats and their fauna.Investigations of deep-sea habitats and their fauna began in the late 19th century. In the intervening years, technological developments and stimulating discoveries have promoted deep-sea research and changed our way of understanding life on the planet. Nevertheless, the deep sea is still mostly unknown and current discovery rates of both habitats and species remain high. The geological, physical and Correspondence to: E. Ramirez-Llodra (ezr@icm.csic.es) geochemical settings of the deep-sea floor and the water column form a series of different habitats with unique characteristics that support specific faunal communities. Since 1840, 28 new habitats/ecosystems have been discovered from the shelf break to the deep trenches and discoveries of new habitats are still happening in the early 21st century. However, for most of these habitats the global area covered is unknown or has been only very roughly estimated; an even smaller -indeed, minimal -proportion has actually been sampled and investigated. We currently perceive most of the deep-sea ecosystems as heterotrophic, depending ultimately on the flux on organic matter produced in the overlying surface ocean through photosynthesis. The resulting strong food limitation thus shapes deep-sea biota and communities, with exceptions only in reducing ecosystems such as inter alia hydrothermal vents or cold seeps. Here, chemoautolithotrophic bacteria play the role of primary producers fuelled by chemical energy sources rather than sunlight. Other ecosystems, such as seamounts, canyons or cold-water corals have an Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 2852 E. Ramirez-Llodra et al.: Unique attributes of the world's largest ecosystem increased productivity through specific physical processes, such as topographic modification of currents and enhanced transport of particles and detrital matter. Because of its unique abiotic attributes, the deep sea hosts a specialized fauna. Although there are no phyla unique to deep waters, at lower taxonomic levels the composition of the fauna is distinct from that found in the upper ocean. Amongst other characteristic patterns, deep-sea species may exhibit either gigantism or dwarfism, related to the decrease in food availability with depth. Food limitation on the seafloor and water column is also reflected in the trophic structure of heterotrophic deep-sea communities, which are adapted to low energy availability. In most of these heterotrophic habitats, the dominant megafauna is composed of detritivores, while filter feeders are abundant in...

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“…Significant changes in microbial communities and diversity have already been observed after a sharp decline of sea-ice cover in September 2007 (between 2002 and2010;Comeau et al 2011). Increased carbon supply from pelagic productivity and riverine discharge coupled with increased bottom water temperature could result in higher bacterial activity and rates of bacterial cycling of carbon (Kritzberg et al 2010;Vaquer-Sunyer et al 2010). The decreased quality and quantity of sinking particles (Wassmann & Reigstad 2011) and usable carbon (Renaud, Morata et al 2008) being exported to the seafloor would decrease the efficiency of food webs.…”

Section: Microbial Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, many of the assumptions made for shelf Arctic systems may not be valid for the central Arctic. The few available studies from the central Arctic report extremely low species richness and biomass (Krö ncke 1994(Krö ncke , 1998 for meiofaunal (Vanreusel et al 2000) and macrofaunal taxa (Krö ncke 1994(Krö ncke , 1998Clough et al 1997;Deubel 2000;Bluhm et al 2005;Bluhm, Ambrose et al 2011), as well as a decrease in diversity with increasing water depth (Krö ncke et al 1998). Primary productivity in the central Arctic is limited by light and nutrients.…”

Section: Permanent Ice Cover*high Arcticmentioning

confidence: 99%