SCIOPS collected macrobenthic fauna samples from the East Greenland continental margin during two RV 'Polarstern' expeditions in 1994 and 1995. The dataset focuses on polychaete community structure, including distribution, abundance, biomass, and diversity across 33 box corer samples from 15 positions. Data includes 81 identified polychaete species and associated sediment property measurements.
Use Cases
- Model polychaete species diversity as a function of water depth and sediment Corg content using data from 33 stations.
- Analyze the correlation between macrofaunal biomass (g C m-2) and environmental factors like grain size and C:N ratio across depth transects.
- Cluster polychaete assemblages into distinct depth zones (200-400m, 800-1400m, >1400m) using multivariate statistics on species abundance data.
- Compare vertical distribution patterns in sediment by analyzing abundance percentages (66% in 0-1 cm layer) and biomass percentages (48% in 0-1 cm layer).
Strengths
- Includes detailed biomass and abundance measurements (e.g., 5673 ind. m-2 at shelf stations) across a defined depth gradient from 200 to 2700 meters.
- Provides species-level identification for 81 polychaete taxa alongside sediment property data like grain size and Corg content.
Limitations
- Sample size is limited to 33 box corer samples from 15 positions, which may restrict statistical power for some analyses.
- Data is temporally stale, collected over a two-month period in 1994 and 1995, with no subsequent updates.
- Geographic coverage is restricted to specific transects in the Fram Strait (74 N to 82 N), limiting generalizability to other Arctic regions.
Provenance
- Source
- SCIOPS via NASA Earthdata.
- Collection Method
- Samples collected using a giant box corer and multiple corer during RV 'Polarstern' expeditions ARK X/1 and ARK XI/2.
- Time Range
- 1994-07 to 1995-10
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- East Greenland continental margin, Fram Strait, between 74 N and 82 N latitude.