Rhodolith beds (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) and their physical and biological environment at 80°31′N in Nordkappbukta (Nordaustlandet, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway)

Teichert, Sebastian; Woelkerling, William J.; Rüggeberg, Andres; Wisshak, Max; Piepenburg, Dieter; Meyerhöfer, Michael; Form, Armin; Büdenbender, Jan; Freiwald, André

doi:10.2216/11-76.1

Cited by 62 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…This is the northernmost finding of these algae. Gulliksen et al (1999) did not record it in our area but Teichert et al (2012) reported it in the Nordkappbukta (Nordaustlandet, Svalbard) at 80°31 0 N. Furthermore, one individual of the Atlantic king crab Lithodes maja, which is also not listed in the report of Gulliksen et al (1999), was recorded at 80°32 0 N. As very often reported from marine field studies (e.g., Starmans et al 1999), we found a pronounced depth zonation to be the most evident spatial pattern in our data, indicating that environmental factors that strongly vary with water depth are most important for determining the distribution of benthic species. There are a number of such factors that are well known as drivers of benthic community patterns, such as seabed composition (Graf 1992;Grebmeier et al 2006) and food availability (Josefson 1987;Grebmeier et al 1988;Graf 1992;Rosenberg 1995).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Distribution and composition of the epibenthic megafauna north of Svalbard (Arctic)

Sswat

Gulliksen

Menn³

et al. 2015

Polar Biol

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Benthic communities north of Svalbard are less investigated than in other Arctic shelf regions, as this area was covered by sea-ice during most of the year. Improving our knowledge on this region is timely, however, since climate change is strongly evident there, particularly with regard to the extent of sea-ice decline and its huge ecological impact on all marine biota, including the benthos. Moreover, longer ice-free periods will certainly lead to an increase in human activity levels in the area, including bottom trawling. In two adjacent shelf and slope regions off northern Svalbard, we studied the composition of epibenthic megafauna and seafloor habitat structures by analyzing seabed images taken with both still and video cameras. In addition, we also used an Agassiz trawl to catch epibenthic organisms for ground-truthing seabedimage information. A wide variety of mostly sessile organisms 141 epibenthic taxa were identified in the images. The brittle star Ophiura sarsii and the soft coral Gersemia rubiformis were the most common species. At all stations [300 m in depth, evidence of trawling activities was detected at the seabed. The distribution of the benthic fauna in the study area exhibited a clear depth zonation, mainly reflecting depth-related differences in seabed composition. We conclude that natural factors determining the composition of the seafloor mostly affect the distribution and composition of epibenthic assemblages. Anthropogenic impact indicated by the trawl scours found is likely also important at smaller spatial scales.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Distribution and composition of the epibenthic megafauna north of Svalbard (Arctic)

Sswat

Gulliksen

Menn³

et al. 2015

Polar Biol

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“…All sites are characterized by similar physical and biological environmental conditions, and the actual thriving of the coralline red algae is obvious. For a thorough description of the investigations at the coralline red algal and rhodolith beds and the associated environment, please refer to Teichert et al (2012) for Nordkappbukta and to Teichert et al (2014) for Floskjeret, Krossfjorden, and Mosselbukta. Rhodoliths and coralline red algae were collected using the following approach.…”

Section: Rhodolith and Coralline Red Algal Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polar coralline algal CaCO<sub>3</sub>-production rates correspond to intensity and duration of the solar radiation

Teichert¹,

Freiwald

2014

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. In this study we present a comparative quantification of CaCO 3 production rates by rhodolith-forming coralline red algal communities situated in high polar latitudes and assess which environmental parameters control these production rates. The present rhodoliths act as ecosystem engineers, and their carbonate skeletons provide an important ecological niche to a variety of benthic organisms. The settings are distributed along the coasts of the Svalbard archipelago, being Floskjeret (78 • 18 N) in Isfjorden, Krossfjorden (79 • 08 N) at the eastern coast of Haakon VII Land, Mosselbukta (79 • 53 N) at the eastern coast of Mosselhalvøya, and Nordkappbukta (80 • 31 N) at the northern coast of Nordaustlandet. All sites feature Arctic climate and strong seasonality.The algal CaCO 3 production rates were calculated from fuchsine-stained, presumably annual growth increments exhibited by the rhodoliths and range from 100.9 g (CaCO 3 ) m −2 yr −1 at Nordkappbukta to 200.3 g (CaCO 3 ) m −2 yr −1 at Floskjeret. The rates correlate to various environmental parameters with geographical latitude being the most significant (negative correlation, R 2 = 0.95, p = 0.0070), followed by the duration of the polar night (negative correlation, R 2 = 0.93, p = 0.0220), the duration of the sea ice cover (negative correlation, R 2 = 0.87, p = 0.0657), and the annual mean temperature (positive correlation, R 2 = 0.48, p = 0.0301). This points out sufficient light incidence to be the main control of the growth of the examined coralline red algal rhodolith communities, while temperature is less important. Thus, the ongoing global change with its rising temperatures will most likely result in impaired conditions for the algae, because the concomitant increased global runoff will decrease water transparency and hence light incidence at the four offshore sites. Regarding the aforementioned role of the rhodoliths as ecosystem engineers, the impact on the associated organisms will presumably also be negative.

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“…As the rest of British coastal waters can reach even higher temperatures, it is unlikely that L. tophiforme can survive there and is therefore found further north. However, a study of the rhodolith beds in the Svalbard Archipelago at the Arctic Circle by Teichert et al (2012) found no evidence of L. tophiforme. This stresses the need for extensive sampling to further our understanding of the distribution of rhodolith and maerl-forming species in the arctic waters.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

There is more to maerl than meets the eye: DNA barcoding reveals a new species in Britain, Lithothamnion erinaceum sp. nov. (Hapalidiales, Rhodophyta)

Melbourne

Lujan-Hernandez

Russell

et al. 2017

European Journal of Phycology

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There is more to maerl than meets the eye: DNA barcoding reveals a new species in Britain, Lithothamnion erinaceum sp. nov. (Hapalidiales, Rhodophyta) University of Bristol -Explore Bristol Research General rightsThis document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/pure/about/ebr-terms Lithothamnion lemoineae, which had earlier been recorded from Britain, was not present. One of the biggest concerns at present is how organisms will respond to climate change and ocean acidification, and it is imperative that investigations are put on a firm taxonomic basis. Our study has highlighted the importance of using molecular techniques to aid in the elucidation of cryptic diversity.

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Rhodolith beds (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) and their physical and biological environment at 80°31′N in Nordkappbukta (Nordaustlandet, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway)

Cited by 62 publications

References 66 publications

Distribution and composition of the epibenthic megafauna north of Svalbard (Arctic)

Distribution and composition of the epibenthic megafauna north of Svalbard (Arctic)

Polar coralline algal CaCO<sub>3</sub>-production rates correspond to intensity and duration of the solar radiation

There is more to maerl than meets the eye: DNA barcoding reveals a new species in Britain, Lithothamnion erinaceum sp. nov. (Hapalidiales, Rhodophyta)

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Rhodolith beds (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) and their physical and biological environment at 80°31′N in Nordkappbukta (Nordaustlandet, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway)

Cited by 62 publications

References 66 publications

Distribution and composition of the epibenthic megafauna north of Svalbard (Arctic)

Distribution and composition of the epibenthic megafauna north of Svalbard (Arctic)

Polar coralline algal CaCO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt;-production rates correspond to intensity and duration of the solar radiation

There is more to maerl than meets the eye: DNA barcoding reveals a new species in Britain, Lithothamnion erinaceum sp. nov. (Hapalidiales, Rhodophyta)

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Polar coralline algal CaCO<sub>3</sub>-production rates correspond to intensity and duration of the solar radiation