Macrobenthic infauna data from 15 stations in the Chirikov Basin, northern Bering Sea, compares community structure between 1986 and 2002. The dataset includes measurements of abundance, biomass, and diversity for taxa including Ampeliscid amphipods, other Crustacea, Mollusca, and Polychaeta. It was collected by SCIOPS via two research cruises in those years.
Use Cases
- Analyze trends in total abundance (343-13,373 individuals m-2 in 1986, 1093-11,418 in 2002) and biomass (20-515g m-2 in 1986, 62-1694g m-2 in 2002) between the two sampling years.
- Compare taxonomic composition and dominance, specifically the role of Ampeliscid amphipods versus other groups like Crustacea, Mollusca, and Polychaeta.
- Assess spatial variation by examining data from the same 15 stations sampled in both 1986 and 2002.
- Investigate correlations between environmental changes and shifts in community metrics like abundance and biomass over the 16-year period.
Strengths
- Direct temporal comparison from samples collected at the same 15 stations in 1986 and 2002.
- Includes concrete, quantified ranges for key ecological metrics: abundance and biomass per square meter.
- Taxonomic information linked to authoritative databases (WORMS and ITIS).
Limitations
- Limited spatial scope with data from only 15 stations in a single basin.
- The study notes observed trends for higher 2002 abundance/biomass were not statistically significant at all stations.
- Abundance estimates are not corrected for detectability, which may affect accuracy.
Provenance
- Source
- SCIOPS, collected via R/V Alpha Helix research cruises.
- Collection Method
- Macrobenthic infauna collected using a 0.1m2 van Veen grab at sampling stations.
- Time Range
- 1986, 2002
- Freshness
- Data collection ended in 2002; the dataset is historical.
- Geography
- Chirikov Basin, northern Bering Sea