| one publication added to basket [134390] | The deep-sea meiofauna of the Porcupine Seabight and abyssal plain (NE Atlantic): population structure, distribution, standing stocks
Pfannkuche, O. (1985). The deep-sea meiofauna of the Porcupine Seabight and abyssal plain (NE Atlantic): population structure, distribution, standing stocks. Oceanol. Acta 8(3): 343-353
In: Oceanologica Acta. Elsevier/Gauthier-Villars: Montreuil. ISSN 0399-1784; e-ISSN 1878-4143, more
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| Keywords |
Abundance
Abyssal zone
Aquatic communities > Benthos > Meiobenthos
Chemical compounds > Organic compounds > Carbohydrates > Glycosides > Pigments > Photosynthetic pigments
Chloroplasts
Correlation (Mathematics) > Correlation analysis
Population characteristics > Biomass
Sediments
Metazoa
Marine/Coastal |
| Abstract |
With increasing depth the total metazoan meiofaunal abundance declined from 2 604 to 315 individuals per 10 cm-2 and the biomass from 1.16 to 0.35 mg per 10 cm -2 (ash-free dry weight). This depth-related decrease in standing stock was significantly correlated with the amounts of sediment-bound chloropastic pigments (chlorophyll a, pheopigments) in a parallel set of samples. These pigments provide a measure to estimate the flux of primary organic matter to the seafloor. The depth transect in the Porcupine Seabight is compared with similar transects off Portugal and north Morocco. All three transects revealed major decreases in meiofaunal density and biomass between 500 m and 1,500 m, roughly equivalent to the archibenthic zone, and also between the continental rise and the abyssal plain. Between 2000 m and 4000 m, however, the standing stock decreased only slightly. |
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