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dc.contributor.authorÅström, Emmelie
dc.contributor.authorCarroll, Michael Leslie
dc.contributor.authorAmbrose, William
dc.contributor.authorSen, Arunima
dc.contributor.authorSilyakova, Anna
dc.contributor.authorCarroll, JoLynn
dc.date.accessioned2018-04-18T09:45:10Z
dc.date.available2018-04-18T09:45:10Z
dc.date.issued2017-10-27
dc.description.abstractCold seeps can support unique faunal communities via chemosynthetic interactions fueled by seabed emissions of hydrocarbons. Additionally, cold seeps can enhance habitat complexity at the deep seafloor through the accretion of methane derived authigenic carbonates (MDAC). We examined infaunal and megafaunal community structure at high-Arctic cold seeps through analyses of benthic samples and seafloor photographs from pockmarks exhibiting highly elevated methane concentrations in sediments and the water column at Vestnesa Ridge (VR), Svalbard (798 N). Infaunal biomass and abundance were five times higher, species richness was 2.5 times higher and diversity was 1.5 times higher at methane-rich Vestnesa compared to a nearby control region. Seabed photos reveal different faunal associations inside, at the edge, and outside Vestnesa pockmarks. Brittle stars were the most common megafauna occurring on the soft bottom plains outside pockmarks. Microbial mats, chemosymbiotic siboglinid worms, and carbonate outcrops were prominent features inside the pockmarks, and high trophic-level predators aggregated around these features. Our faunal data, visual observations, and measurements of sediment characteristics indicate that methane is a key environmental driver of the biological system at VR. We suggest that chemoautotrophic production enhances infaunal diversity, abundance, and biomass at the seep while MDAC create a heterogeneous deep-sea habitat leading to aggregation of heterotrophic, conventional megafauna. Through this combination of rich infaunal and megafaunal associations, the cold seeps of VR are benthic oases compared to the surrounding highArctic deep sea.en_US
dc.descriptionSource at: <a href=https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10732> https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10732 </a>en_US
dc.identifier.citationÅström, E., Carroll, M. L., Ambrose, W., Sen, A., Silyakova, A. & Carroll, J. (2017). Methane cold seeps as biological oases in the high-Arctic deep sea. Limnology and Oceanography, 63(1), 209-S231. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10732en_US
dc.identifier.cristinIDFRIDAID 1514999
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/lno.10732
dc.identifier.issn0024-3590
dc.identifier.issn1939-5590
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10037/12541
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherWileyen_US
dc.relation.journalLimnology and Oceanography
dc.relation.projectIDinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/RCN/SFF/223259/Norway/Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate/CAGE/en_US
dc.rights.accessRightsopenAccessen_US
dc.subjectVDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450en_US
dc.subjectVDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450en_US
dc.titleMethane cold seeps as biological oases in the high-Arctic deep seaen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.typeTidsskriftartikkelen_US
dc.typePeer revieweden_US


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