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Bathymetric distribution of the meiofaunal polychaetes in the nearshore zone of Martel Inlet, King George Island, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2006

Mônica A. Varella Petti ,
Edmundo Ferraz Nonato ,
Rodrigo S.P. Skowronski  and
Thaïs Navajas Corbisier
Mônica A. Varella Petti
Affiliation:
Depto de Oceanografia Biológica, Instituto Oceanográfico – USP, Praça do Oceanográfico, 191, 05508-900, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Edmundo Ferraz Nonato
Affiliation:
Depto de Oceanografia Biológica, Instituto Oceanográfico – USP, Praça do Oceanográfico, 191, 05508-900, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Rodrigo S.P. Skowronski
Affiliation:
Depto de Oceanografia Biológica, Instituto Oceanográfico – USP, Praça do Oceanográfico, 191, 05508-900, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Thaïs Navajas Corbisier
Affiliation:
Depto de Oceanografia Biológica, Instituto Oceanográfico – USP, Praça do Oceanográfico, 191, 05508-900, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Abstract

Polychaetes, the dominant macrofaunal taxa of the Antarctic soft sediments, provided more than 40% of the animals found in Martel Inlet. However, little information is available on the composition of meiofaunal communities in polar areas. This study identified the meiofaunal polychaete species and described their bathymetric distribution in the nearshore zone. Sediment cores were taken by divers from 6–25 m depth in the summer of 1991 and 1994 in front of the Brazilian Antarctic Station (Martel Inlet, Admiralty Bay). Additional sampling was done at the 18 m depth in 1994 in order to study the influence of ice scouring. A total of 1895 specimens in 17 families were found. Three species (Apistobranchus glacierae, Leitoscoloplos kerguelensis and Ophryotrocha notialis), all of them belonging to the temporary meiofauna, provided more than 70% of the total polychaete fraction. This meiofaunal component showed similar distributional patterns to those of the macrofaunal polychaetes in this area.

Keywords

benthoscoastal zoneSouth Shetland Islands
Type
Research Article
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , June 2006 , pp. 163 - 170
Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2006

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