Vertical distribution of macrozoobenthos within the sediment on the continental slope of the Goban Spur area (NE Atlantic)

Flach, Els; Heip, C.H.R.

doi:10.3354/meps141055

Cited by 87 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The mean individual weights of the major macrofaunal taxa did not show a decrease with increasing water depth, in fact the smallest individuals were found at the shallowest station at 185 m (Flach & Heip, 1996a). Also the nematodes did not show an overall decrease in size with increasing water depth ( Figure 5C), nor was there a marked decrease in number ( Figure 5A).…”

Section: Feeding Typesmentioning

confidence: 82%

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The meiofauna:macrofauna ratio across the continental slope of the Goban Spur (north-east Atlantic)

1999

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Meio-and macrofauna density and biomass were estimated at the OMEX-transect across the continental slope of the Goban Spur at water depths ranging from 208 to 4460 m in the north-east Atlantic. A linear increase in the ratio between meio-and macrofauna densities with increasing water depth was found. At the continental shelf meiofauna densities were *50 times higher than macrofauna densities, whereas in the abyss meiofauna densities were more than 1000 times higher. This change in ratio was due to a signi¢cant decrease in macrofauna densities with increasing water depth, whereas the meiofauna densities stayed more or less at the same level. The ratio in biomass between meio-and macrofauna showed a dip at *1000 m. At this depth macrofauna biomass was *55 times higher than meiofauna biomass, whereas at *4500 m macrofauna biomass was only about three times higher. Macrofauna biomass was high at *1000 m, due to the high mean individual weight of the macrofauna, whereas meiofauna biomass and mean individual weight were low at this depth.Meiofauna consisted of *90% nematodes. Within the macrofaunal fraction (40.5 mm) a linear increase in the ratio between nematodes and macrofauna sensu stricto with depth was found. At the deepest station *20% of the macrofaunal fraction were nematodes, at the shallowest station only *2%. Thus, large nematodes became relatively more important with increasing water depth. Within the macrofauna a decrease in the abundance of ¢lter-and surface deposit-feeders relative to the subsurface depositfeeders with increasing water depth was observed, which may be related to a change in food input. As no decrease in mean individual weight with increasing water depth within either group could be observed, the change in meio:macrofauna ratios along the OMEX-transect merely re£ects a change in taxonomic (functional) composition, rather than a change in size.

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Section: Feeding Typesmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…The vertical pro¢les showed very homogeneous sediments to a depth of 15 cm at all stations (Flach & Heip, 1996a) and no changes in grain-size between the three years were observed. The organic carbon and total nitrogen contents of the upper 1cm of the sediment are given in Table 1.…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 95%

The meiofauna:macrofauna ratio across the continental slope of the Goban Spur (north-east Atlantic)

1999

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“…Labile subsurface carbon might exhibit less temporal variability than carbon at the sediment surface. Rudnick & Oviatt (1986) and Flach & Heip (1996) have found seasonal variability in the amount of organic carbon in surface sediments. Gooday & Turley (1990) found that seasonal pulses of organic material affect the population dynamics of epibenthic organisms.…”

Section: Subsurface Feeding Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Generally, the amount of organic carbon attenuates with depth in the sediment (Berner & Westrich 1985, Mayer 1994, Santos et al 1994), but this is not always the case. Organic carbon can increase with depth (Mayer 1994), remain practically constant (Flach & Heip 1996, Relexans et al 1996, or vary with no clear pattern (Mayer 1994, Flach & Heip 1996. Labile subsurface carbon might exhibit less temporal variability than carbon at the sediment surface.…”

Section: Subsurface Feeding Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Surface and subsurface patches of organic matter are likely to vary spatially and temporally in the marine environment (Mayer 1994, Flach & Heip 1996; when a patch is created by the death of an organism, for example, bacterial degradation will begin quickly. If an infaunal organism such as a brittlestar locates a subsurface patch of organic matter with an arm, moving closer would expedite consumption.…”

Section: Disc Depth Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimental evidence of subsurface feeding by the burrowing ophiuroid Amphipholis gracillima (Echinodermata)

Gielazyn

Stancyk

Piegorsch

1999

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Experimental evidence of subsurface feeding by the burrowing ophiuroid Amphipholis gracillima (Echinodermata) 'Marine Science Program, 2~e p a r t m e n t of Biological Sciences, 3Department of Statistics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, USA ABSTRACT: Knowledge of the feeding habits of infaunal deposit-feeders is essential to understand their role in the movement of sediment-bound material and nutrients and in trophic transfer. Depositfeeding ophiuroids are abundant in the world's oceans but many details of their intricate feeding behaviors are unknown. We used fluorescent polystyrene microspheres in a subsurface food layer to demonstrate that Amphipholis gracillima, an infaunal ophiuroid known to feed on surface particles, is also capable of consuming subsurface particles in the laboratory. Although physical conditions varied only slightly during experiments there was a significant effect of temperature on the number of microspheres consumed Additional experiments using layers of m~crospheres with and without food demonstrated that food layers significantly influenced the disc depth of A. gracillima, whereas layers without food did not. Utilizing subsurface sources of food might give burrowing organisms access to more sources of nutrients, decrease sublethal predation and lead to more stable populations over time. 1987, Levinton 1989. Subsurface deposit-feeders, in particular, have the potential to play an important role in the global carbon cycle by increasing the rates of biomineralization and/or decreasing the amount of carbon that is permanently buried. They also have the potential to influence the location and availability of pollutants (Olsen et al. 1982).Infaunal deposit-feeding ophiuroids, although not as thoroughly studied as other groups, are abundant in all oceans of the world and frequently dominate soft bottom macrobenthic communities (Thorson 1957, Barnard & Ziesenhenne 1961, Buchanan 1964, Bowmer & Keegan 1983, Duineveld & Van Noort 1986. Ophiuroids are frequently subjected to lethal or sublethal predation by a variety of fishes, shrimps, and crabs in many parts of the world (Blegvad 1914, Hunt 1925, Duineveld & Van Noort 1986, Feder & Pearson 1988, Theiling 1988, Pape-Lindstrom et al. 1997. They are well known for their ability to rapidly regenerate tissues lost to sublethal predation (Singletary 1970, Bowmer & Keegan 1983, Stancyk et al. 1994, and Pape-Lindstrom et al. (1997) have demonstrated that consumption of infaunal brittlestar arms is a significant trophic pathway in some soft-sediment habitats. Warner (1982,

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Patterns of benthic fauna and benthic respiration on the celtic continental margin in relation to the distribution of phytodetritus

Duineveld

Lavaleye

Berghuis

et al. 1997

Intl Review of Hydrobiology

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In-situ and shipboard measurements of sediment community oxygen consumption (SCOC), in conjunction with a study of, the distributions of macro and megafauna and phytopigments, were used to determine and, where possible, explain the distribution of labile particulate organic matter (POM) on the NE Atlantic continental slope (Goban Spur, SW Ireland). A specific issue concerned the existence of depocentres of labile POM on the slope caused by lateral transport. a phenomenon that has been found previously in ,the' NW Atlantic. The SCOC data from October 1993 and May 1994 showed a steady decrease with increasing water depth. SCOC values ranged from 5.4 mmol m-? d-' at the shelfbreak to 0.3 mmol m-' d-' at 4,500 m depth. No evidence was found for seasonal variation in SCOC. A clear seasonal signal was observed with regard to sediment phytopigments and phytopigment fluxes into sediment traps attached to the benthic lander. The upper-and mid-slope values of both parameters were much higher in May 1994 than in October 1993 and August 1995. This is consistent with the normal spring bloom pattern; but because of the degraded state of the May phytodetritus in the nearbottom water, reflected in the lack of a response in SCOC and the low chlorophyll-o concentrations, it was concluded that the material was not derived from the overlying photic zone, but instead transported from elsewhere in the benthic nepheloid layer (BNL). In August 1995, the lower slope (>3,000 m) had received a strong and fresh phytodetritus pulse (3 g C m-') forming a mucous layer on top of the sediment. Using phytopigments and sterols as molecular markers, it was shown that the pulse was derived from an offshore bloom with an important contribution by dinoflagellates. By contrast, no mucous layer was found on the upper slope stations in August 1995. Macrofauna biomass showed a distinct decline from the upper slope down to the lower slope conforming to the diminishing supply of labile POM. The total wet biomass of megafauna reached relatively high values at the lower slope (>3,500 m) owing to large motile sea cucumbers. The presence of these "vacuum-cleaner" sea cucumbers is considered indicative of the occurrence of phytodetritus pulses. In spite of their assumed adaptation to periodic pulses, the estimated contribution by the sea cucumbers to the total benthic mineralization is minor, When combining data from different yeardseasons we observed decoupling between the food supply to the lower slope and the upper and mid slopes. The major pulse to the former comes from an offshore summer bloom. The upper and mid slope appear to be fuelled by spring bloom material which is subsequently redistributed on the upper slope in a BNL. The quality of the seston in the BNL diminished in the offshore direction as indicated by the phytopigment concentrations.

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Vertical distribution of macrozoobenthos within the sediment on the continental slope of the Goban Spur area (NE Atlantic)

Cited by 87 publications

References 16 publications

The meiofauna:macrofauna ratio across the continental slope of the Goban Spur (north-east Atlantic)

The meiofauna:macrofauna ratio across the continental slope of the Goban Spur (north-east Atlantic)

Experimental evidence of subsurface feeding by the burrowing ophiuroid Amphipholis gracillima (Echinodermata)

Patterns of benthic fauna and benthic respiration on the celtic continental margin in relation to the distribution of phytodetritus

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