Lebensspuren of the Bathyal Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Lebensspuren of the Bathyal Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The extent of megafaunal bioturbation was characterised at flat sedimented sites on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) at 2500 m depth. This study investigated the properties of and spatial variation in surficial bioturbation at the MAR. Lebensspuren assemblages were assessed at four superstations either side of the MAR and in two different surface productivity regimes, north and south of the sub-polar front. High-definition ROV videos from these superstations were used to quantify area and abundance of 58 lebensspuren types. Lebensspuren area was lowest at the SW with 4.12% lebensspuren coverage and the SE & NW had the greatest area coverage of lebensspuren (9.69% for both). All stations except the SW were dominated by epifaunal, particularly track-style, lebensspuren. Infaunal mounds were more significant in the southern superstations, particularly in the SW. In terms of lebensspuren assemblage composition, all superstations were significantly different from one another, which directly corresponded with the composition of lebensspuren-forming epifauna. Lebensspuren assemblages appeared to have been primarily influenced by local-scale environmental variation and were independent of detrital flux. This investigation presented a novel relationship between lebensspuren and faunal density that conflicted with the traditionally held view of inverse proportionality and suggests that, at the MAR, megafaunal reworking was not the only significant control on lebensspuren assemblages.
Bioturbation, Megafaunal lebensspuren, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Sub-Polar Front, ECOMAR
341-351
Bell, James B.
74cdb23e-5474-431d-952c-96e87392987a
Jones, Daniel O.B.
44fc07b3-5fb7-4bf5-9cec-78c78022613a
Alt, Claudia H.S.
aa8e3324-b74b-4678-b0e0-1cc1b1b80517
15 December 2013
Bell, James B.
74cdb23e-5474-431d-952c-96e87392987a
Jones, Daniel O.B.
44fc07b3-5fb7-4bf5-9cec-78c78022613a
Alt, Claudia H.S.
aa8e3324-b74b-4678-b0e0-1cc1b1b80517
Bell, James B., Jones, Daniel O.B. and Alt, Claudia H.S.
(2013)
Lebensspuren of the Bathyal Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 98, .
(doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2012.09.004).
Abstract
The extent of megafaunal bioturbation was characterised at flat sedimented sites on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) at 2500 m depth. This study investigated the properties of and spatial variation in surficial bioturbation at the MAR. Lebensspuren assemblages were assessed at four superstations either side of the MAR and in two different surface productivity regimes, north and south of the sub-polar front. High-definition ROV videos from these superstations were used to quantify area and abundance of 58 lebensspuren types. Lebensspuren area was lowest at the SW with 4.12% lebensspuren coverage and the SE & NW had the greatest area coverage of lebensspuren (9.69% for both). All stations except the SW were dominated by epifaunal, particularly track-style, lebensspuren. Infaunal mounds were more significant in the southern superstations, particularly in the SW. In terms of lebensspuren assemblage composition, all superstations were significantly different from one another, which directly corresponded with the composition of lebensspuren-forming epifauna. Lebensspuren assemblages appeared to have been primarily influenced by local-scale environmental variation and were independent of detrital flux. This investigation presented a novel relationship between lebensspuren and faunal density that conflicted with the traditionally held view of inverse proportionality and suggests that, at the MAR, megafaunal reworking was not the only significant control on lebensspuren assemblages.
Text
Bell et al_Lebensspuren of the Bathyal MAR_corrected proof.pdf
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Published date: 15 December 2013
Keywords:
Bioturbation, Megafaunal lebensspuren, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Sub-Polar Front, ECOMAR
Organisations:
Ocean and Earth Science, Marine Biogeochemistry
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 360972
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/360972
ISSN: 0967-0645
PURE UUID: 76bcdd1c-def9-4c01-b231-127a0ef82480
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Date deposited: 08 Jan 2014 13:10
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 15:44
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Contributors
Author:
James B. Bell
Author:
Daniel O.B. Jones
Author:
Claudia H.S. Alt
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