Meiofauna in the southeastern Bering Sea: community composition and structuring environmental factors

Type Article
Date 2023-04
Language English
Author(s) Tachibana Kazuki1, Shimanaga Motohiro2, Langlet DewiORCID3, 4, Seike Koji5, 6, Miyazaki Masayuki3, Yoshida Mitsuhiro7, Nunoura TakuroORCID7, Nomaki Hidetaka3
Affiliation(s) 1 : Kumamoto Univ, Grad Sch Sci & Technol, Kumamoto, Japan.
2 : Kumamoto Univ, Ctr Water Cycle Marine Environm & Disaster Managem, Kumamoto, Japan.
3 : X star, Japan Agcy Marine Earth Sci & Technol JAMSTEC, Yokosuka, Japan.
4 : Okinawa Inst Sci & Technol OIST, Evolut Cell Biol & Symbiosis Unit, Onna, Japan.
5 : Natl Inst Adv Ind Sci & Technol, Geol Survey Japan, Tsukuba, Japan.
6 : Univ Tokyo, Grad Sch Frontier Sci, Dept Nat Environm Studies, Kashiwa, Japan.
7 : Japan Agcy Marine Earth Sci & Technol JAMSTEC, Res Ctr Biosci & Nanosci CeBN, Yokosuka, Japan.
Source Frontiers In Marine Science (2296-7745) (Frontiers Media Sa), 2023-04 , Vol. 10 , P. 996380 (11p.)
DOI 10.3389/fmars.2023.996380
Keyword(s) Bering Sea, ecology, metazoan meiofauna, standing stock, environment factors
Abstract

The Bering Sea is the second largest marginal sea in the North Pacific and is one of the areas with highest biological productivity in high-latitude waters. The continental shelf of the Bering Sea hosts large populations of marine mammals and fishery resources. However, the smaller organisms in benthic ecosystems, including meiofauna, have been largely overlooked in this area, despite their potential importance in ecosystem functioning and the resultant biogeochemical cycles. This study analyzed spatial differences in the total abundance and community structure of the metazoan meiofauna at five stations around the Bering Canyon, located at the southeastern margin of the Bering Sea. Their association with environmental factors in sediments was also studied. The results confirmed that the investigated stations had meiofaunal standing stocks that were comparable to those of other Arctic seas. Among the investigated sediment biological and geochemical parameters (total organic carbon, median grain size, prokaryotic cell numbers, etc.), multivariate analyses showed that the C/N of organic matter in sediments was the main factor associated with meiofaunal community structure.

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How to cite 

Tachibana Kazuki, Shimanaga Motohiro, Langlet Dewi, Seike Koji, Miyazaki Masayuki, Yoshida Mitsuhiro, Nunoura Takuro, Nomaki Hidetaka (2023). Meiofauna in the southeastern Bering Sea: community composition and structuring environmental factors. Frontiers In Marine Science, 10, 996380 (11p.). Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.996380 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00865/97673/