Distribution and composition of macrobenthic communities along a Victoria-Land Transect (Ross Sea, Antarctica)

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Description/Abstract

The Victoria-Land Transect project onboard the Italian research vessel ‘‘Italica’’ in February 2004, was a large-scale attempt to obtain benthic samples of smaller macrozoobenthic specimens systematically along a latitudinal and a depth transect along the Victoria- Land coast. Data presented from this survey are based on Rauschert dredge samples, which were taken at four areas at depth ranging from 84 to 515 m. A cluster analysis based on relative numbers of abundance was performed and demonstrated a change in community structure depending on the location along the latitudinal transect. A change in community structure with depth was not recorded. Dominant taxa of the Ross Sea fauna along the Victoria-Land coast were the Arthropoda (65.7%), followed by Annelida (20.7%), Mollusca (9.6%) and Echinodermata (2.5%). Total number of abundance decreased with depth with an exception at Cape Russell, whereas a trend in biomass was not documented. Abundance and biomass proportions of major taxa changed gradually along the latitudinal transect.