JPR Advance Access published online on April 16, 2008
Journal of Plankton Research, doi:10.1093/plankt/fbn045
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Seasonal abundance and vertical distribution of siphonophores in western Norwegian fjords
1 University of Bergen, Department of Biology, PO Box 7800, N-5020 Bergen, Norway 2 Umeå University, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences and Umeå Marine Sciences Centre, Norrbyn, S-91020 Hörnefors, Sweden
* Corresponding author: aino.hosia@gmail.com
Received on February 21, 2008; revised on March 31, 2008; accepted on April 10, 2008
| Abstract |
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Seasonal abundance of siphonophores in Korsfjord and Fanafjord was studied by net sampling. Nanomia cara, Lensia conoidea and Dimophyes arctica were dominant species present throughout the year. Abundance of N. cara colonies peaked in late May and early June. Low numbers of relatively large colonies and high numbers of siphonulae were observed during winter. D. arctica and L. conoidea had a generation shift in March, when large over-wintering and small young polygastric colonies co-existed briefly before the former disappeared. Abundances were lowest during winter, and eudoxids were consistently more numerous than polygastric colonies for both species. Maximum abundances of polygastric D. arctica and L. conoidea occurred in early May and late June, respectively. L. conoidea may have more than one annual generation in Korsfjord.
Vertical distributions of siphonophores were studied with an ROV in 9 fjords. The distributions of agalmatid physonects, probably mostly N. cara, differed significantly between the fjords, with the weighted mean depths (WMD) of the distributions ranging from 99 to 412 m. Results from Sognefjord suggested diel vertical migration (DVM). The bulk of the adult colonies in each fjord occurred below sill depth. Siphonophores were not observed at localities known to host persistent populations of Periphylla periphylla.
Key Words: Siphonophores seasonal abundance vertical distribution Norway fjords Nanomia cara Lensia conoidea Dimophyes arctica ROV
Communicating Editor: Professor Mark Gibbons