Is There a Distinct Continental Slope Fauna in the Antarctic?  

Authors / CoAuthors

Kaiser, S. | Griffiths, H.J. | Barnes, D.K.A. | Brandao, S.N. | O'Brien, P.E.

Abstract

The Antarctic continental slope spans the depths from the shelf break (usually between 500-1000 m) to ~3000 m, is very steep, overlain by 'warm' Circumpolar Deep Water and life there is poorly studied. This study investigates whether life on Antarctica's continental slope is essentially an extension of the shelf or the deep-sea fauna, a transition zone between these or clearly distinct in its own right. Using data from several cruises to the Weddell and Scotia sea, including the ANDEEP (ANtarctic benthic DEEP-sea biodiversity, colonisation history and recent community patterns) I-III and BIOPEARL (BIOdiversity, Phylogeny, Evolution and Adaptive Radiation of Life in Antarctica) 1 and EASIZ II cruises as well as current data bases (SOMBASE, SCAR-MarBIN), we selected four different taxa (i.e. cheilostome bryozoans, isopod and ostracod crustaceans, and echinoid echinoderms) and two areas, the Weddell and the Scotia Sea, to examine faunal composition, richness and affinities. The answer has important ramifications to the link between physical oceanography and ecology, and the potential of the slope to act as a refuge and resupply zone to the shelf during glaciations (and therefore support or not glaciological reconstructions of ice sheets covering continental shelves).

Product Type

nonGeographicDataset

eCat Id

69535

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Keywords

• External Publication

( Theme )

• Antarctic data

( Theme )

• bathymetry

( Theme )

• continental margins

( Theme )

• geomorphology

( Theme )

• marine biodiversity

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

• Earth Sciences

• Published_Internal

Publication Date

2009-09-15T00:00:00

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence    

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