Shallow benthic communities of South Georgia Island

Barnes, David K.A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9076-7867; Linse, Katrin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3477-3047; Waller, Cath; Morley, Simon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7761-660X; Enderlein, Peter; Fraser, Keiron P.P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5491-8376; Brown, Matt. 2006 Shallow benthic communities of South Georgia Island. Polar Biology, 29 (3). 223-228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-005-0042-0

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Abstract/Summary

Benthic communities in several fjords and sheltered bays of the north coast of South Georgia Island were examined using SCUBA and shore sampling in November 2004. It is one of the most northerly islands within the Polar Front and its well studied, terrestrial biota is described as sub Antarctic. The intertidal and subtidal zones and their fauna are, by comparison, little known. We describe the composition of the substratum and benthic communities of sites in several northern bays, including an exceptional community in the extremely sheltered Moraine Fjord with a 2 m sill at its entrance. In this, like those in some other fjordic systems, some taxa occur shallower than elsewhere, and in this instance, get large and are probably old. Elsewhere, we found the coastal fauna was fairly similar to Antarctic shallow communities in the southern Scotia Arc and Peninsula region. Of the taxa we found, we identified 53 to genus and 41 to species. Most of these were typical Antarctic shallow benthic taxa. Certain flatworms, nemerteans, bivalve and gastropod molluscs, amphipod and isopod crustaceans, asteroid echinoderms and stalked ascidians were very abundant, but some normally common Antarctic higher taxa and species were notably absent or rare.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-005-0042-0
Programmes:	BAS Programmes > Antarctic Science in the Global Context (2000-2005) > Antarctic Biodiversity - Past, Present and Future BAS Programmes > Antarctic Science in the Global Context (2000-2005) > Life at the Edge - Stresses and Thresholds
ISSN:	0722-4060
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Full text not available from this repository
NORA Subject Terms:	Zoology Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	21 Aug 2007 16:11 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/16

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