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- Title
Benthic meiofaunal density and community composition in the deep White Sea and their temporal variations.
- Authors
Miljutin, Dmitry; Miljutina, Maria; Mokievsky, Vadim; Tchesunov, Alexei
- Abstract
In spite of the fact that shallow-water meiobenthos of the White Sea is a relatively well studied, the information on meiobenthic fauna from the deepest part of this sea is still very scanty. This study represents the first major study of the meiobenthos from the deep White Sea. The composition of the meiobenthic community, density and vertical distribution was studied during four sampling occasions in the deepest part of the Kandalaksha Depression (White Sea) in July 1998, October 1998, May 1999 and November 1999. Samples were collected from a depth of 270 m with the aid of a multicorer. The total density of meiobenthos in 1998 was twice than in 1999 (on average, 2,356 and 1,464 ind./10 cm, respectively). The most abundant meiobenthic group was Foraminifera (59 %), followed by Nematoda (26 %) and Harpacticoida (7 %). These relative and absolute abundance values are comparable with the same depth interval in Arctic and temperate regions. The density of foraminiferans and nematodes was higher in the autumn and lower in the summer. This may be explained by the mass propagation of these animals in the autumn season: the density of juvenile nematodes and small-sized foraminiferans increased significantly in the 1- to 4-cm-deep sediment layers in autumn. The size range of the meiobenthos in the deepest part of the White Sea was also comparable to deep-sea meiobenthos (the 63-125 and 125-250 μm size classes were most dominant).
- Subjects
WHITE Sea (Russia); KANDALAKSHA (Russia); RUSSIA; MEIOFAUNA; INTERSTITIAL animals; VERTICAL distribution (Aquatic biology); NEMATODES
- Publication
Polar Biology, 2012, Vol 35, Issue 12, p1837
- ISSN
0722-4060
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00300-012-1226-z