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Species composition, zonation, and biomass of marine benthic macroalgae in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard

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Published/Copyright: May 18, 2012
Botanica Marina
From the journal Botanica Marina Volume 55 Issue 4

Abstract

We surveyed macroalgae at Hansneset, Blomstrand (78°39′N, 11°57′E) in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, down to 30 m depth between 1996 and 1998. In total, 62 species were identified: 16 Chlorophyta, 25 Phaeophyceae, and 21 Rhodophyta. The majority of species (53.5%) belonged to the Arctic cold-temperate group, followed in frequency by species distributed from the Arctic to the warm-temperate region (25.9%). Four endemic Arctic species (Laminaria solidungula, Acrosiphonia flagellata, A. incurva, and Urospora elongata) were found. Two species (Pogotrichum filiforme and Mikrosyphar polysiphoniae) were new to Svalbard. Chlorophyta, Phaeophyceae, and Rhodophyta extended from the eulittoral zone down to 11, 21, and >30 m depths with maximum biomasses at 1–5 m, 5–10 m, and 5–30 m depths, respectively. Annual and pseudoperennial species had highest biomasses in the upper 5 m, while perennials were distributed deeper. The highest biomass (8600 g m-2 wet weight) at 5 m depth comprised mainly L. digitata, Saccorhiza dermatodea, Alaria esculenta, and Saccharina latissima. The biogeographic composition of macroalgae at Hansneset was rather similar to that of northeastern Greenland, but different from that of northern Norway, which has a higher proportion of temperate species. Climate warming and ship traffic may extend some of the distribution ranges of macroalgae from mainland Norway to Svalbard.

Keywords: Arctic fjords; biogeography; depth zonation; macroalgae; seaweeds; species inventory
Corresponding author
Received: 2012-1-6
Accepted: 2012-4-11
Published Online: 2012-05-18
Published in Print: 2012-08-01

©2012 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2012-0097
Keywords for this article
Arctic fjords; biogeography; depth zonation; macroalgae; seaweeds; species inventory

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Masthead
  2. Masthead
  3. Research Articles
  4. Polysiphonia sensu lato (Ceramiales, Florideophyceae) species of Caribbean Panama including Polysiphonia lobophoralis sp. nov. and Polysiphonia nuda sp. nov.
  5. Molecular support for the establishment of the new genus Laurenciella within the Laurencia complex (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta)
  6. Neosiphonia peruviensis sp. nov. (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta) from the Pacific coast of South America
  7. Colpomenia durvillei (Scytosiphonaceae, Phaeophyceae): its distribution and relationships with other elongate species of the genus
  8. Phymatolithon lamii (Hapalidiaceae, Corallinales, Rhodophyta): a first report for the Mediterranean Sea
  9. Floristic macroalgal diversity in selected submarine caves located within two marine protected areas off Lampedusa Island and Sicily (Italy)
  10. Species composition, zonation, and biomass of marine benthic macroalgae in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard
  11. Diversity, occurrence, and habitats of the diatom genus Bacteriastrum (Bacillariophyta) in the northern Adriatic Sea, with the description of B. jadranum sp. nov.
  12. Characterization of the protein phosphatase 2c gene from Porphyra yezoensis and functional analysis under dessicating conditionsa
  13. Antibacterial compound from the endophytic fungus Phomopsis longicolla isolated from the tropical red seaweed Bostrychia radicans
  14. Short Communication
  15. First record of fertile gametophytes of Polysiphonia perforans (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta)
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