The sub-ice algal community in the Chukchi sea: large- and small-scale patterns of abundance based on images from a remotely operated vehicle |
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Authors: | William G Ambrose Jr Cecilie von Quillfeldt Lisa M Clough Peter V R Tilney Terry Tucker |
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Institution: | 1. Biology Department, Bates College, Lewiston, ME, 04240, USA 2. Akvaplan-Niva, Polar Environmental Center, Troms?, 9296, Norway 3. Norwegian Polar Institute, Polar Environmental Center, Troms?, 9296, Norway 4. Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA 5. CRREL, 72 Lyme Rd., Hanover, NH, 03755, USA
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Abstract: | We examined the sub-ice algal community in the Chukchi Sea during June 1998 using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Ice algae
were observed on the under-ice surface at all ten stations (from 70°29′N to 72°26′N; 162°00′W to 153°56′W) and varied in abundance
and distribution from small aggregations limited to depressions in the ice to nets, curtains and strands of Melosira. There was no relationship between percent cover of sub-ice algae and physical factors at the kilometer scale, but at the
scale of individual ice floes the percent cover of sub-ice algae was positively correlated with distance from the floe edge
and negatively correlated with snow depth. A significant positive relationship between the concentration of sediment pigments
and percent cover of sub-ice could indicate a coupling between ice algal and benthic systems. Pieces of ice algae that appeared
to be Melosira were observed on the seafloor to a depth of over 100 m and cells or spores of obligate ice algal taxa were collected from
sediments from 44-m to 1,000-m deep. The large biomass of sub-ice algae observed at many stations in the Chukchi Sea and the
presence of ice algae on the seafloor indicates that the distribution and abundance of sub-ice algae needs to be understood
if we are to evaluate the role of ice algae in the Arctic marine ecosystem. |
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