The Epifauna of the Northern North Sea (56°–61°N)

Basford, D.J.; Eleftheriou, A.; Raffaelli, D.

doi:10.1017/s0025315400029490

Cited by 48 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…This concept for the benthic infauna was conWrmed and diVerentiated by Künitzer et al (1992). Also, most epifaunal large scale studies conWrmed the importance of this depth contours for the separation of epifaunal communities in the North Sea (Dyer et al 1983;Basford et al 1989;Frauenheim et al 1989;Duineveld and van Noort 1990;Jennings et al 1999;Rees et al 1999;Zühlke et al 2001a;Callaway et al 2002). Especially, the 50-m depth line was the most conspicuous boundary for epifaunal communities separating the southern and central-northern North Sea (Callaway et al 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Basford et al (1989) mentioned the importance of the 100-m depth contour since it separates the more stable northern environment from the more variable central area. In our study it separates the Boxes B and C in the central North Sea from the Boxes D, L and M in the northern North Sea.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First spatial investigations on epifauna communities in the North Sea were carried out by Dyer et al (1982Dyer et al ( , 1983, resulting from the analysis of Wsheries' by-catch. Since then epifaunal communities in diVerent parts of the North Sea and the entire North Sea have been investigated and described by several authors (Basford et al 1989;Frauenheim et al 1989;Duineveld and van Noort 1990;Jennings et al 1999;Rees et al 1999;Zühlke et al 2001a;Callaway et al 2002). These investigations focused on the epifaunal large-scale distribution patterns and the environmental factors related to these patterns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial variability of epifaunal communities in the North Sea in relation to sampling effort

2008

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Benthic epifauna was sampled in six areas from the German Bight towards the Norwegian Sea using a 2-m standard beam trawl. Nine replicates were taken in each area and year from 1999 to 2006. This data set (60-67 replicates per area) was used to describe the spatial variability in local species composition and to assess the eVect of increasing sampling eVort on species richness and community structure. Our results conWrmed the importance of the 50-m depth contour for the separation of benthic fauna in the North Sea. Low species richness, sparse sessile fauna and high abundances of scavenging species such as Asterias rubens, Liocarcinus holsatus, Astropecten irregularis and Ophiura albida were characteristic of the low-water area south of the 50-m contour. DiVerences in community structure were less conspicuous in deeper waters north of the 50-m contour, but distribution patterns and abundances of single species such as Echinus elegans, Hyalinoecia tubicola, Ophiothrix fragilis, Scaphander lignarius as well as several hermit crabs resulted in well-deWned epifaunal communities. One replicate caught 17-28% of the species found in 60-67 samples and was suYcient to separate the community in the German Bight from those in the central and northern North Sea by using multidimensional scaling. Nine replicates sampled a proportion of 53-60% and provided additional information on the spatial variability of community structure in the central and northern North Sea. Our study indicates that appropriate replication enhances the quality of the data and can partly overcome the constraints of sampling with a 2-m beam trawl. This might be helpful for future monitoring programmes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial variability of epifaunal communities in the North Sea in relation to sampling effort

2008

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“…Depth, not surprisingly, has been identified as the main factor controlling community structure in all the studies in the world where a considerable depth gradient was involved (such as Basford et al 1989, Rabalais 1990. The present paper is no exception to this rule since in this 40 to 190 m depth interval everything changes with respect to physics, chemistry and biology.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The continental shelf of Crete:structure of macrobenthic communities

Karakassis¹,

Eleftheriou²

1997

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

105

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ABSTRACT. The analysis of 99 quantitative macrobenthic samples taken from the Cretan shelf at depths ranging from 40 to 190 m yielded 547 species from a total of 18858 individuals. Both average abundance a n d blomass decreased with depth in this zone by 85 and 75% respect~vely. The fauna was not consistently related to the biocoenoses proposed for the Mediterranean, a t least with regard to the distribution of characteristic species in the sampled stations. Diversity also decreased with depth, result~ng in a rather impoverished fauna towards the outer shelf. The main factors explaining the overall macrofaunal distribution were depth and chlorophyll a, while further analysis for the 4 different groups of stations identified by cluster analysis revealed that factors controlling the structure of the assemblages also change with depth: in the shallow stations sedimentary characteristics such a s grain size play an important role while in deep offshore statlons macrofauna is largely shaped by iood availa b~h t y and the quality of sedimenting phytoplankton blomass.

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“…As the distances sampled varied from 289 to 489 m (Table l ) , numbers of specimens and species were calculated for a standardized 1000 m haul (Table 2) (Basford et al 1989, Svavarsson et al 1990, Brandt 1993. Positions of EBS sampled stations are shown in Fig 1 a n 1993 30.05.1993 03.06.1993 04.06.1993 07.06.1993 08.06.1993 12.06.1993 14.06.1993 17.06.1993 20.06.1993 30.06.1993 Latitude ( 1993 05.07.1993 08.07.1993 11.07.1993 12.07.1993 14.07.1993 19.07.1993 19.07.1993 22.07.1993 22.07.1993 26.07.1993 Latitude ( The term species diversity is used to mean species RESULTS richness, i.e.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peracarid fauna (Crustacea, Malacostraca) of the Northeast Water Polynya off Greenland:documenting close benthic-pelagic coupling in the Westwind Trough

Brandt¹

1995

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Composition, abundance, and diversity of peracarids (Crustacea) were investigated over a period of 3 mo in the Northeast Water Polynya (NEW), off Greenland. Samples were collected from May to July 1993 during expeditions ARK IX/2 and 3 using an epibenthic sledge on RV 'Polarstern' Within the macrobenthic community peracarids were an important component of the shelf fauna and occurred in high abundance in this area together with polychaetes, molluscs and brittle stars. A total of 38322 specimens were sampled from 22 stations. Cumacea attained the highest total abundance and Amphipoda the highest d~versity. Isopoda were of medium abundance, Mysidacea less abundant, and Tanaidacea least abundant. In total 229 species were found. Differences in composition, abundance and diversity do not reflect bathymetric gradients, but mainly the availability of food (phytoplankton and especially ice algae) and, hence, the temporal and spatial opening of the polynya. Thus primary production and hydrographic condit~ons (lateral advection due to the ant~cyclonic gyre around Belgica Bank) are the main biological and physical parameters influencing the peracarid crustacean community, documenting a close coupling between primary production and the benthic community in the eastern Westwind Trough. The high abundance of Peracarida, which are also capable of burrowing in the upper sediment layers, indicates their importance for benthic carbon cycling.

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The Epifauna of the Northern North Sea (56°–61°N)

Cited by 48 publications

References 11 publications

Spatial variability of epifaunal communities in the North Sea in relation to sampling effort

Spatial variability of epifaunal communities in the North Sea in relation to sampling effort

The continental shelf of Crete:structure of macrobenthic communities

Peracarid fauna (Crustacea, Malacostraca) of the Northeast Water Polynya off Greenland:documenting close benthic-pelagic coupling in the Westwind Trough

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