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Yermak Plateau revisited: spatial and temporal patterns of meiofaunal assemblages under permanent ice-coverage

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Abstract

Benthic sampling between 1997 and 2006 on the Yermak Plateau, a permanently ice-covered submarine peninsula northwest of Svalbard, exhibited regional differences with generally higher meiofauna numbers in southern and western parts (~2,250–2,300 ind. 10 cm−2 in the south-west, compared with ~1,200–1,350 ind. 10 cm−2 in the north-east). Distribution patterns suggest a current-driven lateral input of POM, produced in the high-productive Marginal Ice Zone, with increased intensity along the western slope of the plateau. Significant correlations between comparably ‘fresh’ sediment-bound phytodetritus and the taxonomic composition of meiofauna assemblages indicate that food quality decisively affects the community structure. The long-term development of meiobenthic communities showed no clear trend; however, a comparison of summer and winter data exhibited higher meiofauna densities and a more diverse composition in July samples. The predominance of small nematodes in the summer samples might point to reproductive activities stimulated by increased food availability. The taxonomic composition of nematode assemblages showed distinct regional differences, thereby indicating more stable environmental conditions in north-eastern parts of the Yermak Plateau.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the crews of RV ‘Polarstern’ and RV ‘Maria S. Merian’ for their helpful support during the expeditions between 1997 and 2006, and Anja Pappert, Daniela Freese, Anne-Maria Grave and Stephanie Simon for assistance with the measurements of various biogenic sediment compounds, bacterial counts and the meiofauna sortings. We also gratefully acknowledge two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the manuscript. This is publication awi-n17512 of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany.

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  1. Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Thomas Soltwedel, Ingo Schewe & Christiane Hasemann

  2. P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 36, Nakhimov Prospect, 117218, Moscow, Russia

    Vadim Mokievsky

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  1. Thomas Soltwedel
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Correspondence to Thomas Soltwedel.

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Soltwedel, T., Mokievsky, V., Schewe, I. et al. Yermak Plateau revisited: spatial and temporal patterns of meiofaunal assemblages under permanent ice-coverage. Polar Biol 32, 1159–1176 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0612-7

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