International Journal of Marine Science 2016, Vol.6, No.54, 1-8
1
Research Article Open Access
Benthic Faunal Assemblage of the Arctic Kongsfjorden System, Norway
S. Bijoy Nandan
1
, Krishnapriya P. P.
1,
, Akhilesh Vijay
1
, Asha C. V.
1
, Jayachandran P. R.
1
, K. P. Krishnan
2
1. Dept. of Marine Biology, Microbiology & Biochemistry, School of Marine Sciences,Cochin University of Science & Technology, Cochin 682 016, India
2. National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, Goa 403 804
Corresponding author email
International Journal of Marine Science
2016, Vol.6, No.54 doi
Received: 28 Oct., 2016
Accepted: 13 Dec., 2016
Published: 15 Dec., 2016
This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article
:
Bijoy Nandan S., Krishnapriya P.P., Akhilesh V., Asha C.V., Jayachandran P.R., and Krishnan K.P., 2016, Benthic Faunal Assemblage of the Arctic
Kongsfjorden System, Norway, International Journal of Marine Science, 6(54): 1-8 (doi
Abstract
Kongsfjord is an open glacial fjord on the west coast of Svalbard, located northwards to Norway. Benthic samples were
collected from seven selected locations as a part of summer Phase III group 2 – Indian Arctic Expedition 2011. The characteristic
macro benthic fauna observed in the soft bottom glacial community include Foraminifera, Nematoda, Polychaeta, Bivalvia,
Amphipoda, Calanoid copepoda and Ostracoda, out of which polychaetes (59%) and nematodes (21%) were abundant. The meio
benthic group was constituted by Nematoda, Foraminifera, Bivalvia, Polychaeta, Harpacticoid copepoda, Gastrotricha, and
Kinoryncha, of which nematodes (54%) followed by foraminferans (37%) were the dominant group. A significant difference in the
distribution of meio benthos between the inner and outer fjords was observed. Multivariate analysis of macro and meio fauna showed
an overall similarity of ~ 80% among stations. The inner and outer fjords were similar in terms of granulomertic composition and were
also silt dominated in the entire Kongsfjorden system. Total carbon (TC) and total organic carbon (TOC) were higher in the outer fjord,
but the total inorganic carbon (TIC) was slightly higher in the inner fjord. The diversity and abundance of benthic organisms was
strongly influenced by sediment characteristics, glacial inputs and Atlantic water mass movements making the ecosystem
unpredictable.
Keywords
Kongsfjord; Macrofauna; Meiofauna; Nematoda; Foraminifera
Introduction
Fjords are semi-enclosed marine inlets that remain under strong terrestrial and oceanic influences and are
considered to be strongly dependent on regional species pools of neighbouring open seas. The mixing of melt water
from the glaciers and the saline water from the ocean form a suitable environment for the flourishing benthic
organisms. Studies on the sediment characteristics are important for benthic studies. The works done by several
researchers have got immense attention (Birgel et al., 2004; Chetelat et al., 2010; Holte et al., 1996; Urban-Malinga
et al., 2005, 2009; Pawlowska et al., 2011; Wlodarska-Kowalczuk et al., 2004, 2012). Meiobenthic abundance and
diversity exceed that of macrofauna and megafauna with increasing water depth (Giere, 2009). Shallow water soft
bottom macro faunal communities have received attention in recent times but were not sampled effectively for
quantitative studies. Hence the characterisation of benthic fauna both macro and meio have immense understanding
in studying their distribution and role in environmental monitoring programs. This paper discusses the composition,
abundance and diversity of macro benthic fauna with regard to sediment characteristics in the arctic Kongsfjorden
system.
Materials and Methods
Study area and sampling stations
The study area was Kongsfjorden glacial fjord (79
O
N, 12
O
E) in Arctic (Svalbard) located north wards to Norway.
Kongsfjorden is a high latitude glacial fjord influenced by Atlantic and Arctic water masses. The glacial outflow
of fresh melt-water containing mineral materials influences the salinity, water transparency and primary
production and sedimentation rates. The samples were collected from seven stations (Fig.1). The depth of the area
ranged from 40 to 303 meters (Table 1). Based on depth profile, the fjord stations were divided into two subsets
representing the outer and inner parts of the fjord. Stations 1, 2 and 3 were considered as inner fjord whereas 4, 5,
6 and 7 as outer in the fjord.
