Oceanography The Official Magazine of
The Oceanography Society
Volume 28 Issue 03

View Issue TOC
Volume 28, No. 3
Pages 68 - 83

OpenAccess

The Relationship Between Patterns of Benthic Fauna and Zooplankton in the Chukchi Sea and Physical Forcing

By Maria N. Pisareva , Robert S. Pickart , Katrin Iken , Elizaveta A. Ershova, Jacqueline M. Grebmeier, Lee W. Cooper, Bodil A. Bluhm, Carolina Nobre, Russell R. Hopcroft, Haoguo Hu , Jia Wang, Carin J. Ashjian , Ksenia N. Kosobokova, and Terry E. Whitledg 
Jump to
Article Abstract Citation References Copyright & Usage
Article Abstract

Using data from a number of summer surveys of the Chukchi Sea over the past decade, we investigate aspects in which the benthic fauna, sediment structure, and zooplankton there are related to circulation patterns and shelf hydrographic conditions. A flow speed map is constructed that reveals the major pathways on the shelf. Regions of enhanced flow speed are dictated by lateral constrictions—in particular, Bering Strait and Barrow and Herald Canyons—and by sloping topography near coastlines. For the most part, benthic epifaunal and macrofaunal suspension feeders are found in high flow regimes, while deposit feeders are located in regions of weaker flow. The major exceptions are in Bering Strait, where benthic sampling was underrepresented, and in Herald Canyon where the pattern is inexplicably reversed. Sediment grain size is also largely consistent with variations in flow speed on the shelf. Data from three biophysical surveys of the Chukchi Sea, carried out as part of the Russian-American Long-term Census of the Arctic program, reveal close relationships between the water masses and the zooplankton communities on the shelf. Variations in atmospheric forcing, particularly wind, during the three sampling periods caused significant changes in the lateral and vertical distributions of the summer and winter water masses. These water mass changes, in turn, were reflected in the amounts and species of zooplankton observed throughout the shelf in each survey. Our study highlights the close relationship between physical drivers (wind forcing, water masses, circulation, and sediment type) in the Chukchi Sea and the biological signals in the benthos and the plankton on a variety of time scales.

Citation

Pisareva, M.N., R.S. Pickart, K. Iken, E.A. Ershova, J.M. Grebmeier, L.W. Cooper, B.A. Bluhm, C. Nobre, R.R. Hopcroft, H. Hu, J. Wang, C.J. Ashjian, K.N. Kosobokova, and T.E. Whitledge. 2015. The relationship between patterns of benthic fauna and zooplankton in the Chukchi Sea and physical forcing. Oceanography 28(3):68–83, https://doi.org/​10.5670/oceanog.2015.58.

References

Appeltans, W.P., P. Bouchet, G.A. Boxshall, C. De Broyer, N.J. de Voogd, D.P. Gordon, B.W. Hoeksema, T. Horton, M. Kennedy, J. Mees, and others. 2012. World register of marine species, http://www.marinespecies.org

Ashjian, C.J., S.M. Gallager, and S. Plourde. 2005. Transport of plankton and particles between the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas during summer 2002, described using a Video Plankton Recorder. Deep Sea Research Part II 52:3,259–3,280, https://doi.org/​10.1016/j.dsr2.2005.10.012.

Blanchard, A.L., and H.M. Feder. 2014. Interactions of habitat complexity and environmental characteristics with macrobenthic community structure at multiple spatial and temporal scales in the northeastern Chukchi Sea. Deep Sea Research Part II 102:132–143, https://doi.org/10.1016/​j.dsr2.2013.09.022

Blanchard A.L., C.L. Parris, A.L. Knowlton, and N.R. Wade. 2013. Benthic ecology of the northeastern Chukchi Sea: Part II. Spatial variation of Megafaunal Community Structure, 2009–2010. Continental Shelf Research 67:67–76, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2013.04.031.

Bluhm, B.A., K. Iken, S.L. Mincks, B.I. Sirenko, and B.A. Holladay. 2009. Community structure of epibenthic megafauna in the Chukchi Sea. Aquatic Biology 7:269–293, https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00198.

Blumberg, A.F., and G.L. Mellor. 1987. A description of 3-D coastal ocean circulation model. Pp. 1–16 in Coastal and Estuarine Sciences 4: 3-D Coastal Ocean Models. N.S. Heaps, ed., American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC. 

Brugler, E.T., R.S. Pickart, G.W.K. Moore, S. Roberts, T.J. Weingartner, and H. Statscewich. 2014. Seasonal to interannual variability of the Pacific Water Boundary Current in the Beaufort Sea. Progress in Oceanography 127:1–20, https://doi.org/​10.1016/​j.pocean.2014.05.002.

Campbell, R.G., E.B. Sherr, C.J. Ashjian, S. Plourde, B.F. Sherr, V. Hill, and D.A. Stockwell. 2009. Mesozooplankton prey preference and grazing impact in the western Arctic Ocean. Deep Sea Research Part II 56:1,274­–1,289, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2008.10.027.

Cavalieri, D.J., J.P. Crawford, M.R. Drinkwater, D.T. Eppler, L.D. Farmer, R.R. Jentz, and C.C. Wackerman. 1991. Aircraft active and passive microwave validation of sea ice concentration from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Special Sensor Microwave Imager. Journal of Geophysical Research 96(C12):21,989–22,008, https://doi.org/10.1029/91JC02335.

Coachman, L.K., K. Aagaard, and R.B. Tripp. 1975. Bering Strait: The Regional Physical Oceanography. University of Washington Press, Seattle and London, 172 pp.

Cooper, L.W., I.L. Larsen, T.M. Beasley, S.S. Dolvin, J.M. Grebmeier, J.M. Kelley, M. Scott, and A. Johnson-Pyrtle. 1998. The distribution of radiocesium and plutonium in sea ice-​entrained Arctic sediments in relation to potential sources and sinks. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 39(3):279–303, https://doi.org/​10.1016/S0265-931X(97)00058-1.

Cooper, L.W., A.S. Savvichev, and J.M. Grebmeier. 2015. Abundance and production rates of heterotrophic bacterioplankton in the context of sediment and water column processes in the Chukchi Sea. Oceanography 28(3):84–99, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2015.59.

Davis, C.S., S.M. Gallager, M. Marra, and W.K. Stewart. 1996. Rapid visualization of plankton abundance and taxonomic composition using the Video Plankton Recorder. Deep Sea Research Part II 43:1,947–1,970, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0645(96)00051-3.

Davis, C.S., Q. Hu, S.M. Gallager, X. Tang, and C.J. Ashjian. 2004. Real-time observation of taxa-specific plankton distributions: An optical sampling method. Marine Ecology Progress Series 284:66–75, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps284077

Denisenko, S.G., J.M. Grebmeier, and L.W. Cooper. 2015. Assessing bioresources and standing stock of zoobenthos (key species, high taxa, trophic groups) in the Chukchi Sea. Oceanography 28(3):146–157, https://doi.org/​10.5670/oceanog.2015.63.

Dunton, K. 2015. Hanna Shoal: An integrative study of a High Arctic marine ecosystem. ECO 3(4):25–33, http://digital.ecomagazine.com/display_article.php?id=1986513&id_issue=254898.

Ershova, E.A., R.R. Hopcroft, and K.N. Kosobokova. 2015. Inter-annual variability of summer mesozooplankton communities of the western Chukchi Sea: 2004–2012. Polar Biology 38(9):1,461–1,481, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1709-9.

Feder, H.M., S.C. Jewett, and A.L. Blanchard. 2007. Southeastern Chukchi Sea (Alaska) macrobenthos. Polar Biology 30:261–275, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-006-0180-z.

Feder, H.M., A.S. Naidu, S.C. Jewett, J.M. Hameedi, W.R. Johnson, and T.E. Whitledge. 1994. The northeastern Chukchi Sea: Benthos-environmental interactions. Marine Ecology Progress Series 111:171–190.

Grebmeier, J.M. 2012. Shifting patterns of life in the Pacific Arctic and sub-Arctic Seas. Annual Review of Marine Science 4:63–78, https://doi.org/​10.1146/annurev-marine-120710-100926.

Grebmeier, J.M., B.A. Bluhm, L.W. Cooper, S.L. Danielson, K.R. Arrigo, A.L. Blanchard, J.T. Clarke, R.H. Day, K.E. Frey, R.R. Gradinger, and others. 2015a. Ecosystem characteristics and processes facilitating persistent macrobenthic biomass hotspots and associated benthivory in the Pacific Arctic. Progress in Oceanography 136:92–114, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2015.05.006.

Grebmeier, J.M., B.A. Bluhm, L.W. Cooper, S.G. Denisenko, K. Iken, M. Kędra, and C. Serratos. 2015. Time-series benthic community composition and biomass and associated environmental characteristics in the Chukchi Sea during the RUSALCA 2004–2012 Program. Oceanography 28(3):116–133, https://doi.org/​10.5670/​oceanog.2015.61.

Grebmeier, J.M., and L. Cooper. 2014. PacMARS Surface Sediment Parameters, Version 1.0., https://doi.org/10.5065/D6416V3G.

Grebmeier, J.M., L.W. Cooper, H.M. Feder, B.I. Sirenko, 2006. Ecosystem dynamics of the Pacific-influenced Northern Bering and Chukchi Seas in the Amerasian Arctic. Progress in Oceanography 71:331–361, https://doi.org/​10.1016/j.pocean.2006.10.001.

Grebmeier, J.M., S.E. Moore, J.E. Overland, K.E. Frey, and R. Gradinger. 2010. Biological response to recent Pacific Arctic sea ice retreats. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union 91(18):161–162, https://doi.org/​10.1029/2010EO180001.

Favorite, F., A.J. Dodimead, and K. Nasu. 1976. Oceanography of the subarctic Pacific region, 1962–72. Bulletin of the International North Pacific Fisheries Commission 33:1–187.

Hibler, W.D. III. 1979. A dynamic and thermodynamic sea ice model. Journal of Physical Oceanography 9:15,959–15,969, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0485(1979)009​<0815:ADTSIM>2.0.CO;2.

Hu, Q., and C.S. Davis. 2005. Automatic plankton image recognition with co-occurrence matricies and support vector machine. Marine Ecology Progress Series 295:21–31, https://doi.org/​10.3354/meps295021.

Itoh, M., R.S. Pickart, T. Kikuchi, Y. Fukamachi, K.I. Ohshima, D. Simizu, K.R. Arrigo, S. Vagle, J. He, C. Ashjian, and others. 2015. Water properties, heat and volume fluxes of Pacific water in Barrow Canyon during summer 2010. Deep Sea Research Part I 102:43–54, https://doi.org/10.1016/​j.dsr.2015.04.004.

Lowry, K.E., R.S. Pickart, M.M. Mills, Z.W. Brown, G.L. Dijken, N.R. Bates, and K.R. Arrigo. 2015. The influence of winter water on phytoplankton blooms in the Chukchi Sea. Deep Sea Research Part II 118:53–72, https://doi.org/10.1016/​j.dsr2.2015.06.006

MacDonald, I.R., B.A. Bluhm, K. Iken, S. Gagaev, and S. Strong. 2010. Benthic macrofaunal and megafaunal assemblages in the Arctic deep-sea Canada Basin. Deep Sea Research Part II 57:136–152, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2009.08.012.

Mellor, G.L. 2004. Users Guide for a 3-D, Primitive Equation, Numerical Ocean Model. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program, Princeton University, 56 pp.

Mesinger, F., G. DiMego, E. Kalnay, K. Mitchell, P.C. Shafran, W. Ebisuzaki, D. Jović, J. Woollen, E. Rogers, E.H. Berbery, and others. 2006. North American regional reanalysis. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 87(3):343–360, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-87-3-343.

Münchow, A., and E.C. Carmack. 1997. Synoptic flow and density observations near an Arctic shelf break. Journal of Physical Oceanography 27:1,402–1,419, https://doi.org/​10.1175/1520-0485(1997)027<1402:SFADON>​2.0.CO;2.

Nelson, J., R. Gradinger, B. Bluhm, J.M. Grebmeier, B. Sirenko, K. Conlan, P. Ramlal, S. Lee, H. Joo, B. Li, and others. 2014. Lower trophics: Northern Bering, Chukchi, Beaufort (Canada and US) Seas, and the Canada Basin. Pp. 269–336 in The Pacific Arctic Region: Ecosystem Status and Trends in a Rapidly Changing Environment. J.M. Grebmeier and W. Maslowski, eds, Springer, Dordrecht.

Paquette, R.G., and R.H. Bourke. 1974. Observations on the coastal current of Arctic Alaska. Journal of Marine Research 32:195–207.

Pickart, R.S., G.W.K. Moore, Chongyuan Mao, F. Bahr, C. Nobre, and T.J. Weingartner. In press. Circulation of Winter Water on the Chukchi Shelf in early summer. Deep-Sea Research Part II.

Pickart, R.S., L.J. Pratt, D.J. Torres, T.E. Whitledge, A.Y. Proshutinsky, K. Aagaard, T.A. Agnew, G.W.K. Moore, and H.J. Dail. 2010. Evolution and dynamics of the flow through Herald Canyon in the western Chukchi Sea. Deep Sea Research Part II 57(1–2):5–26, https://doi.org/10.1016/​j.dsr2.2009.08.002.

Pickart, R.S., M.A. Spall, G.W.K. Moore, T.J. Weingartner, R.A. Woodgate, K. Aagaard, and K. Shimada. 2011. Upwelling in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea: Atmospheric forcing and local versus non-local response. Progress in Oceanography 88:78–100, https://doi.org/​10.1016/j.pocean.2010.11.005.

Pickart, R.S., T.J. Weingartner, S. Zimmermann, D.J. Torres, and L.J. Pratt. 2005. Flow of winter-​transformed water into the western Arctic. Deep Sea Research Part II 52:3,175–3,198, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2005.10.009.

Pisareva, M.N., R.S. Pickart, M.A. Spall, C. Nobre, D.J. Torres, G.W.K. Moore, and T.E. Whitledge. 2015. Flow of Pacific water in the western Chukchi Sea: Results from the 2009 RUSALCA expedition. Deep Sea Research Part II 105:53–73, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2015.08.011.

Ravelo, A.M., B. Konar, J.H. Trefry, and J.M. Grebmeier. 2014. Epibenthic community variability in the northeastern Chukchi Sea. Deep Sea Research Part II 102:119–131, https://doi.org/10.1016/​j.dsr2.2013.07.017.

Reynolds, R.W., T.M. Smith, C. Liu, D.B. Chelton, K.S. Casey, and M.G. Schlax. 2007. Daily high-​resolution-blended analyses for sea surface temperature. Journal of Climate 20:5,473–5,496, https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JCLI1824.1.

Spall, M.A. 2007. Circulation and water mass transformation in a model of the Chukchi Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research 112, C05025, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JC003364.

Steele, M., R. Rebecca, and W. Ermold. 2001. PHC: A global ocean hydrography with a high-quality Arctic Ocean. Journal of Climate 14:2,079–2,087, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2001)014​<2079:PAGOHW>2.0.CO;2.

Steele, M., J. Zhang, and W. Ermold. 2010. Mechanisms of summertime upper Arctic Ocean warming and the effect on sea ice melt. Journal of Geophysical Research 115, C11004, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JC005849.

Tang, X., W.K. Stewart, L. Vincent, H. Huang, M. Marra, S.M. Gallager, and C.S. Davis. 1998. Automatic plankton image recognition. Artificial Intelligence Review 12:177–199, https://doi.org/​10.1007/978-94-011-5048-4_9.

Timmermans, M.L., A. Proshutinsky, I. Ashik, A. Beszczynska-Moeller, E. Carmack, I. Frolov, R. Ingvaldsen, M. Itoh, J. Jackson, Y. Kawaguchi, and others. 2012. Ocean. Arctic Report Card: Update for 2012, http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/report12/ocean.html.

von Dassow, M. 2005. Flow and conduit formation in the external fluid-transport system of a suspension feeder. Journal of Experimental Biology 208:2,931–2,938, https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.01738

Wang, J., K. Mizobata, X. Bai, H. Hu, M. Jin, Y. Yu, M. Ikeda, W. Johnson, W. Perie, and A. Fujisaki. 2014. A modeling study of coastal circulation and landfast ice in the nearshore Beaufort and Chukchi seas using CIOM. Journal of Geophysical Research 119:3,285–3,312, https://doi.org/​10.1002/2013JC009258.

Weingartner, T.J., K. Aagaard, R. Woodgate, S. Danielson, Y. Sasaki, and D. Cavalieri. 2005. Circulation on the north central Chukchi Sea shelf. Deep Sea Research Part II 52:3,150–3,174, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2005.10.015.

Weingartner, T.J., D.J. Cavalieri, K. Aagaard, and Y. Sasaki, 1998. Circulation, dense water formation, and outflow on the Northeast Chukchi Shelf. Journal of Geophysical Research 103:7,647–7,661, https://doi.org/10.1029/98JC00374.

Weingartner, T.J., S. Danielson, Y. Sasaki, V. Pavlov, and M. Kulakov. 1999. The Siberian Coastal Current: A wind and buoyancy-forced Arctic coastal current. Journal of Geophysical Research 104:29,697–29,713, https://doi.org/​10.1029/1999JC900161.

Weingartner, T., E. Dobbins, S. Danielson, P. Winsor, R. Potter, and H. Statscewich. 2013. Hydrographic variability over the northeastern Chukchi Sea shelf in summer-fall 2008–2010. Continental Shelf Research 67:5–22, https://doi.org/10.1016/​j.csr.2013.03.012.

Whitledge, T.E., S.C. Malloy, C.J. Patton, and C.D. Wirick. 1981. Automated Nutrient Analysis in Seawater. Brookhaven National Laboratory Technical Report BNL 51398.

Wildish, D., and D. Kristmanson. 2005. Benthic Suspension Feeders and Flow. Cambridge University Press, 424 pp.

Winsor, P., and D.C. Chapman. 2004. Pathways of Pacific water across the Chukchi Sea: A numerical model study. Journal of Geophysical Research 109, C03002, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JC001962.

Wlodarska-Kowalczuk, M., and T.H. Pearson. 2004. Soft-bottom macrobenthic faunal associations and factors affecting species distributions in an Arctic glacial fjord (Kongsfjord, Spitsbergen). Polar Biology 27:155–167, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-003-0568-y.

Wood, K.R., J. Wang, S.A. Salo, and P.J. Stabeno. 2015. The climate of the Pacific Arctic during the first RUSALCA decade 2004–2013. Oceanography 28(3):24–35, https://doi.org/​10.5670/oceanog.2015.55.

Woodgate, R.A., K. Aagaard, and T.J. Weingartner. 2005. A year in the physical oceanography of the Chukchi Sea: Moored measurements from autumn 1990–1991. Deep Sea Research Part II 52:3,116–3,149, https://doi.org/10.1016/​j.dsr2.2005.10.016

Woodgate, R.A., K.M. Stafford, and F.G. Prahl. 2015. A synthesis of year-round interdisciplinary mooring measurements in the Bering Strait (1990–2014) and the RUSALCA years (2004–2011). Oceanography 28(3):46–67, https://doi.org/​10.5670/oceanog.2015.57.

Woodgate, R.A., T.J. Weingartner, and R. Lindsay. 2012. Observed increases in Bering Strait oceanic fluxes from the Pacific to the Arctic from 2001 to 2011 and their impacts on the Arctic Ocean water column. Geophysical Research Letters 39, L24603, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL054092.

Yun, M.S., T.E. Whitledge, M. Kong, and S.H. Lee. 2014. Low primary production in the Chukchi Sea shelf, 2009. Continental Shelf Research 76:1–11, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2014.01.001.

Zhao, M., M.-L. Timmermans, S. Cole, R. Krishfield, A. Proshutinsky, and J. Toole. 2014. Characterizing the eddy field in the Arctic Ocean halocline. Journal of Geophysical Research 119:8,800–8,817, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010488.

Copyright & Usage

This is an open access article made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format as long as users cite the materials appropriately, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate the changes that were made to the original content. Images, animations, videos, or other third-party material used in articles are included in the Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission directly from the license holder to reproduce the material.