Remarks to macrobenthic investigation
of the Siberian shelf seas
and deep Arctic basins
Hendrik Deubel, Michael Klages, Eike Rachor
Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany
Expeditions
Arctic Ocean 1996
IB Oden
ARK XIV/1a 1998
RV Polarstern
ARK VIII/3 1991
RV Polarstern
10°
0 °
170°
ARK XIII/2 1997
RV Polarstern
1 80 °
14
0°
85
°
90
°W
10°
170°
ARK IXX/1a 2003
RV Polarstern
160
°
20°
150°
Kara
see
30°
°
40
ARK VIII/2 1991
RV Polarstern
te w
p
La see
0°
14
Kara Sea Expedition 1993
RV Dmitri Mendeleyev
50
°
SIRRO 1997 - 2002
RV Akademik Boris Pretov
0°
13
0°
12
ARK XI/1 1995
RV Polarstern
ARK IX/4 1993
RV Polarstern
General objectives
•
Analysis of the structure, species composition, abundance
and biomass of biological communities.
•
Investigation for food preferences of character species.
How much organic carbon is utilized by the macrozoobenthos
per time unit?
•
How important is the input of freshwater for the biological
communities?
•
Biochemical investigations on the lipid metabolism.
•
Model for energy flow and trophic relations between the pelagic
and benthic systems.
Macrobenthic biomass
[AFDW]
Kara Sea
Laptev Sea
Arctic Ocean
(southern)
(northern)
(central)
Polychaeta
Echinodermata
Mollusca
Crustacea
others
Distribution of the macrofauna along the
continental slope (≈147°E)
South
North
50
1000
40
30
2000
20
10
2500
3000
South
North
0
2000
1000
1500
1000
2000
Depth [m]
abundance / m2
0
500
3000
0
6
South
North
0
5
4
1000
3
2
2000
1
0
3000
Depth [m]
biomass [AFDW g/m2]
0
Depth [m]
species number
60
others
Sipunculida
Cnidaria
Echinodermata
Crustacea
Mollusca
Polychaeta
depth