Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

CS04 Benthic-Pelagic Coupling: Seasonality, Pulses, and Flux

Date: Thursday, February 15, 2001, Time: 4:15:00 PM

Location: Mesilla

Gudeman, C, L, Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA, gudeman@ocean.tamu.edu

Rowe, G, T, Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA, growe@ocean.tamu.edu

Hubbard, G, F, Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA, fhubbard@ocean.tamu.edu

DEEP SEA SEASONALITY OF BENTHIC MACROFAUNA IN THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO

While it is generally accepted that seasonality has been observed in deep-sea environments, the effects of annual variations on the resident biota remains either obscure or controversial. It has been observed that the density of the polychaete and annelid macrofauna can vary in density between two time periods across a broad depth interval of the continental slope of the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). This temporal difference has been used to construct a numerical simulation that estimates variations in the amount of organic matter (POC) that is incorporated into the food chain over a typical seasonal cycle. The original macrofauna data suggest that the total POC flux and its variation in time both decline with increasing depth. This decline allows the growth rates in the model to be adjusted accordingly over the same depth interval to the predicted decline in POC delivery to the sea floor. An interdisciplinary investigation, the “Deepwater Program: Northern Gulf of Mexico Continental Slope Habitats and Benthic Ecology,” has been initiated to validate the model.

This Session Listing

Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

Quicklinks