Sedimentation and composition of wall communities in Alaskan fjords |
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Authors: | Diane Carney John S Oliver Cynthia Armstrong |
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Institution: | (1) Benthic Laboratory, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, PO Box 450, Moss Landing, CA 95039, USA e-mail: carney@mlml.calstate.edu; Fax: +1-831-6335642, US;(2) 249 West Hilton Drive, Boulder Creek, CA 95006, USA, US |
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Abstract: | The effects of suspended sediments on the composition of wall communities in Alaskan fjords were investigated by quantitative
assessment of underwater photo-quadrats. In fjords with actively retreating tidewater glaciers, suspended sediment levels
were extremely high at the heads and were exponentially lower at the mouths. Fjords without glaciers had low suspended sediment
levels throughout. The per cent cover and number of species were lowest where sedimentation was highest, at the heads of glacial
fjords. Here the wall communities were dominated by a sparse cover of small serpulid worms. Richer communities comprising
mostly algae, sponges, hydroids, bryozoans, tunicates and brachiopods were found in fjords without glaciers, and at the mouths
of glacial fjords. There was a positive correlation between water clarity and community composition along a gradient from
heads to the mouths of fjords with high suspended sediment levels.
Accepted: 11 January 1999 |
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