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The Meiobenthos Along a Mediterranean Deep-Sea Transect off Calvi (Corsica) and in an Adjacent Canyon |
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| Authors: | Karline Soetaert Carlo Heip Magda Vincx |
| Institution: | Marine Biology Section, Zoology Institute, State University of Gent, Belgium.;Delta Institute for Hydrobiological Research, Vierstraat 28, NL-440I EA Yerseke, The Netherlands. |
| Abstract: | Abstract. Meiobenthos densities (excluding hard-shcllcd foraminifcrans) were compared along a Mediterranean deep-sea transect off Calvi (Corsica) and in an adjacent canyon. Chloroplastic Pigment Equivalent values (CPE) provided an estimate of the amount of primary production reaching the bottom. The stations along the transect were characterized by a low CPE content of the sediment, decreasing with increasing station depth. CPE values in the canyon were much higher, which probably resulted from import of material from the adjacent bay of Calvi. Similarly, meiobenthos densities along the transect were much lower than at comparable depths along the canyon. Meiobenthos density was significantly and positively correlated with CPE values. Nematodes were the most abundant taxon at all stations, followed by copepods + nauplii and the soft-shelled foraminiferans. The meiobenthos was most abundant in the upper half centimeter. Nematode and foraminiferan densities tended to decline less rapidly with increasing depth into the sediment. Specimens belonging to the recently described phylum Loricifera, larvae of the parasitic crustacean class Tantulocarida, and fragments of an infaunal Xenophyophoria (large protozoans) are reported for the first time from the Mediterranean. |
| Keywords: | Meiobenthos deep sea canyon mciofauna distribution Loricifera Tan-tulocarida Xenophyophoria |