Characteristic benthic size spectra: potential sampling artefacts

Bett, Brian J.

doi:10.3354/meps10441

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…4), drawn from highly contrasting environments, suggest a continuous increasing distribution of biomass across the size classes studied. These observations are consistent with the earlier works of Drgas et al (1998) and Duplisea (2000), and accepting the potential sampling artefacts described by Bett (2013), also with the classical works of Schwinghamer (1981Schwinghamer ( , 1983Schwinghamer ( , 1985. This increase in biomass with body size is also apparent in studies of the larger benthos (megabenthos) by Lampitt et al (1986) and Thurston et al (1994).…”

Section: Controls On the Biomass Size Spectrasupporting

confidence: 81%

“…He constructed benthic biomass size spectra (BBSS) from six intertidal stations in the Northwest Atlantic and found a "characteristic" trimodal size spectrum (with biomass peaks in the size ranges 0.5-1 µm, 64-125 µm and > 2 mm; corresponding to micro-, meio-and macrofauna, respectively) which was supported by later works (Schwinghamer, 1983(Schwinghamer, , 1985. In contrast, other studies, primarily in shallow-water locations (Strayer, 1986;Drgas et al, 1998;Duplisea, 2000), found biomass increases that were continuous with increasing body size, suggesting that discontinuities in biomass distributions could be a result of sampling artefacts (Bett, 2013).…”

Section: Published By Copernicus Publications On Behalf Of the Europementioning

confidence: 51%

“…The lower body-size limit is notionally set by the minimum sieve mesh size employed (45 µm) to extract invertebrates from the sediment samples. The variable body forms, protruding appendages and adherent debris of individual specimens all act, however, to blur this lower boundary (see Bett, 2013). Again, a lower limit was set (0.6 µg wet weight), below which we believe specimens were not efficiently sampled in the present study.…”

Section: Field Observations -Sample Collection and Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We focus on this first-order phenomenon of the decrease (increase) in abundance (biomass). Recent work (Bett, 2013(Bett, , 2014Warwick, 2014) discusses the extent to which variability about the trend is likely to be a robust signal or a result of sampling artefacts.…”

Section: Observed Size Spectra: Abundance and Biomassmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Benthic biomass size spectra in shelf and deep-sea sediments

et al. 2014

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Abstract. The biomass distributions of marine benthic metazoans (meio-to macro-fauna, 1 µg-32 mg wet weight) across three contrasting sites were investigated to test the hypothesis that allometry can consistently explain observed trends in biomass spectra. Biomass (and abundance) size spectra were determined from observations made at the Faroe-Shetland Channel (FSC) in the Northeast Atlantic (water depth 1600 m), the Fladen Ground (FG) in the North Sea (150 m), and the hypoxic Oman Margin (OM) in the Arabian Sea (500 m). Observed biomass increased with body size as a power law at FG (scaling exponent, b = 0.16) and FSC (b = 0.32), but less convincingly at OM (b = 0.12 but not significantly different from 0). A simple model was constructed to represent the same 16 metazoan size classes used for the observed spectra, all reliant on a common detrital food pool, and allowing the three key processes of ingestion, respiration and mortality to scale with body size. A micro-genetic algorithm was used to fit the model to observations at the sites. The model accurately reproduces the observed scaling without needing to include the effects of local influences such as hypoxia. Our results suggest that the size-scaling of mortality and ingestion are dominant factors determining the distribution of biomass across the meio-to macrofaunal size range in contrasting marine sediment communities. Both the observations and the model results are broadly in agreement with the "metabolic theory of ecology" in predicting a quarter power scaling of biomass across geometric body size classes.

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Section: Controls On the Biomass Size Spectrasupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Published By Copernicus Publications On Behalf Of the Europementioning

confidence: 51%

Section: Field Observations -Sample Collection and Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Observed Size Spectra: Abundance and Biomassmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Benthic biomass size spectra in shelf and deep-sea sediments

et al. 2014

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“…where there are data that span larger size ranges and assemblage types. However, care must be 364 taken in considering potential biases from sampling gear (Bett 2013). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Links between deep‐sea respiration and community dynamics

Ruhl

Bett

Hughes

et al. 2014

Ecology

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Integrating ocean observations across body‐size classes to deliver benthic invertebrate abundance and distribution information

Ruhl

Bett

Ingels

et al. 2023

Limnol Oceanogr Letters

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Invertebrate animals living at the seafloor make up a prominent component of life globally, spanning 10 orders of magnitude in body size over 71% of Earth's surface. However, integrating information across sizes and sampling methodologies has limited our understanding of the influence of natural variation, climate change and human activity. Here, we outline maturing practices that can underpin both the feasibility and impact of establishing Benthic Invertebrate Abundance and Distribution as a Global Ocean Observing System—Essential Ocean Variable, including: (1) quantifying individual body size, (2) identifying the well‐quantified portions of sampled body‐size spectra, (3) taking advantage of (semi‐)automated information processing, (4) application of metadata standards such as Darwin Core, and (5) making data available through internationally recognized access points. These practices enable broader‐scale analysis supporting research and sustainable development, such as assessments of indicator taxa, biodiversity, biomass, and the modeling of carbon stocks and flows that are contiguous over time and space.

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Characteristic benthic size spectra: potential sampling artefacts

Cited by 17 publications

References 24 publications

Benthic biomass size spectra in shelf and deep-sea sediments

Benthic biomass size spectra in shelf and deep-sea sediments

Links between deep‐sea respiration and community dynamics

Integrating ocean observations across body‐size classes to deliver benthic invertebrate abundance and distribution information

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