The Impact of Sea Ice Loss on Benthic Communities of the Makarov Strait (Northeastern Barents Sea)
The continental shelf of the northeastern Barents Sea is presently experiencing a weak influx of Atlantic water from the west. In recent times, warming in Arctic regions has led to an increase in extended ice-free periods in this area, instead of significantly elevating water temperatures. The impli...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/14/2320 |
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| author | Lyudmila V. Pavlova Alexander G. Dvoretsky Alexander A. Frolov Olga L. Zimina Olga Yu. Evseeva Dinara R. Dikaeva Zinaida Yu. Rumyantseva Ninel N. Panteleeva |
| author_facet | Lyudmila V. Pavlova Alexander G. Dvoretsky Alexander A. Frolov Olga L. Zimina Olga Yu. Evseeva Dinara R. Dikaeva Zinaida Yu. Rumyantseva Ninel N. Panteleeva |
| author_sort | Lyudmila V. Pavlova |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The continental shelf of the northeastern Barents Sea is presently experiencing a weak influx of Atlantic water from the west. In recent times, warming in Arctic regions has led to an increase in extended ice-free periods in this area, instead of significantly elevating water temperatures. The implications of this phenomenon on the structure and functioning of benthic communities were investigated during the autumn of 2019 within the Makarov Strait, located in the southwestern part of the St. Anna Trough. The macrozoobenthic communities exhibited a clear connection with the duration of ice-free periods. This variable influenced a vertical carbon flux, which subsequently served as the primary predictor for faunal abundance and diversity, as demonstrated by redundancy and correlation analyses. Two faunal groups were identified, corresponding to short and long open-water periods. Both groups had similar alpha diversity (65 ± 6 and 61 ± 9 species per station) and biomasses (39 ± 13 and 47 ± 13 g m<sup>−2</sup>) but displayed differing abundances (1140 ± 100 vs. 4070 ± 790 ind. m<sup>−2</sup>) and other diversity indices. We observed a decline in the proportion of polychaetes, accompanied by an increase in the proportion and diversity of bivalves, as well as a rise in the abundance of infaunal species, sub-surface deposit feeders, and mobile suspension feeders, in response to the increasing vertical carbon flux. The potential increase in anthropogenic pressures related to oil development in the northeastern Barents Sea highlights the importance of our study for conservation and monitoring efforts in the region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:22:23Z |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:22:23Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-4b172f9918f24c1a9af1598611365cc52023-11-18T18:00:42ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-07-011314232010.3390/ani13142320The Impact of Sea Ice Loss on Benthic Communities of the Makarov Strait (Northeastern Barents Sea)Lyudmila V. Pavlova0Alexander G. Dvoretsky1Alexander A. Frolov2Olga L. Zimina3Olga Yu. Evseeva4Dinara R. Dikaeva5Zinaida Yu. Rumyantseva6Ninel N. Panteleeva7Murmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MMBI RAS), 183010 Murmansk, RussiaMurmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MMBI RAS), 183010 Murmansk, RussiaMurmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MMBI RAS), 183010 Murmansk, RussiaMurmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MMBI RAS), 183010 Murmansk, RussiaMurmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MMBI RAS), 183010 Murmansk, RussiaMurmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MMBI RAS), 183010 Murmansk, RussiaMurmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MMBI RAS), 183010 Murmansk, RussiaMurmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MMBI RAS), 183010 Murmansk, RussiaThe continental shelf of the northeastern Barents Sea is presently experiencing a weak influx of Atlantic water from the west. In recent times, warming in Arctic regions has led to an increase in extended ice-free periods in this area, instead of significantly elevating water temperatures. The implications of this phenomenon on the structure and functioning of benthic communities were investigated during the autumn of 2019 within the Makarov Strait, located in the southwestern part of the St. Anna Trough. The macrozoobenthic communities exhibited a clear connection with the duration of ice-free periods. This variable influenced a vertical carbon flux, which subsequently served as the primary predictor for faunal abundance and diversity, as demonstrated by redundancy and correlation analyses. Two faunal groups were identified, corresponding to short and long open-water periods. Both groups had similar alpha diversity (65 ± 6 and 61 ± 9 species per station) and biomasses (39 ± 13 and 47 ± 13 g m<sup>−2</sup>) but displayed differing abundances (1140 ± 100 vs. 4070 ± 790 ind. m<sup>−2</sup>) and other diversity indices. We observed a decline in the proportion of polychaetes, accompanied by an increase in the proportion and diversity of bivalves, as well as a rise in the abundance of infaunal species, sub-surface deposit feeders, and mobile suspension feeders, in response to the increasing vertical carbon flux. The potential increase in anthropogenic pressures related to oil development in the northeastern Barents Sea highlights the importance of our study for conservation and monitoring efforts in the region.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/14/2320macrozoobenthosenvironmental factorssea ice extentBarents SeaMakarov StraitSt. Anna Trough |
| spellingShingle | Lyudmila V. Pavlova Alexander G. Dvoretsky Alexander A. Frolov Olga L. Zimina Olga Yu. Evseeva Dinara R. Dikaeva Zinaida Yu. Rumyantseva Ninel N. Panteleeva The Impact of Sea Ice Loss on Benthic Communities of the Makarov Strait (Northeastern Barents Sea) Animals macrozoobenthos environmental factors sea ice extent Barents Sea Makarov Strait St. Anna Trough |
| title | The Impact of Sea Ice Loss on Benthic Communities of the Makarov Strait (Northeastern Barents Sea) |
| title_full | The Impact of Sea Ice Loss on Benthic Communities of the Makarov Strait (Northeastern Barents Sea) |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of Sea Ice Loss on Benthic Communities of the Makarov Strait (Northeastern Barents Sea) |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of Sea Ice Loss on Benthic Communities of the Makarov Strait (Northeastern Barents Sea) |
| title_short | The Impact of Sea Ice Loss on Benthic Communities of the Makarov Strait (Northeastern Barents Sea) |
| title_sort | impact of sea ice loss on benthic communities of the makarov strait northeastern barents sea |
| topic | macrozoobenthos environmental factors sea ice extent Barents Sea Makarov Strait St. Anna Trough |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/14/2320 |
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