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Admiralty Bay Benthos Diversity—A census of a complex polar ecosystem
Jacek Sicin
´ski
a,
n
, Krzysztof Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski
a
, Claude De Broyer
b
, Piotr Presler
a
, Ryszard Ligowski
a
,
Edmundo F. Nonato
c
, Thais N. Corbisier
c
, Monica A.V. Petti
c
, Tania A.S. Brito
d
, Helena P. Lavrado
e
,
Magdalena B"az
˙ewicz-Paszkowycz
a
, Krzysztof Pabis
a
, Anna Jaz
˙dz
˙ewska
a
, Lucia S. Campos
e
a
Laboratory of Polar Biology and Oceanobiology, University of Ło
´dz
´, 12/16 Banacha Street, 90-237 Ło
´dz
´, Poland
b
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
c
Department of Biological Oceanography, Oceanographic Institute, University of S ~
ao Paulo, Prac-a do Oceanogra
´fico, 191, CEP 05508-120 S~
ao Paulo, SP, Brazil
d
Ministry of Environment, PROANTAR, SEPN 505—Bloco B—Edifı
´cio Marie Prendi Cruz—Sala 402, CEP 70730-542 Brası
´lia, DF, Brazil
e
Institute of Biology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, CCS—BlA, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-590 RJ, Brazil
article info
Available online 17 September 2010
Keywords:
Antarctica
King George Island
Admiralty Bay
Benthos
Biodiversity
Community ecology
abstract
A thorough census of Admiralty Bay benthic biodiversity was completed through the synthesis of data,
acquired from more than 30 years of observations. Most of the available records arise from successive
Polish and Brazilian Antarctic expeditions organized since 1977 and 1982, respectively, but also include
new data from joint collecting efforts during the International Polar Year (2007–2009). Geological and
hydrological characteristics of Admiralty Bay and a comprehensive species checklist with detailed data
on the distribution and nature of the benthic communities are provided. Approximately 1300 species of
benthic organisms (excluding bacteria, fungi and parasites) were recorded from the bay’s entire depth
range (0–500 m). Generalized classifications and the descriptions of soft-bottom and hard-bottom
invertebrate communities are presented. A time-series analysis showed seasonal and interannual
changes in the shallow benthic communities, likely to be related to ice formation and ice melt within
the bay. As one of the best studied regions in the maritime Antarctic Admiralty Bay represents a legacy
site, where continued, systematically integrated data sampling can evaluate the effects of climate
change on marine life. Both high species richness and high assemblage diversity of the Admiralty Bay
shelf benthic community have been documented against the background of habitat heterogeneity.
&2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
The western Antarctic Peninsula is an extremely rich and
diverse part of the Southern Ocean marine ecosystem. Benthic
communities of this region have been the subject of several
studies (e.g. Gallardo and Castillo, 1969; Lowry, 1975; Gallardo
et al., 1977; Richardson and Hedgpeth, 1977; Sa
´iz-Salinas et al.,
1997, 1998; Arnaud et al., 1998; Barnes and Brockington, 2003;
Smale, 2008). Recent analyses by Barnes et al. (2008) from Port
Foster (Deception Island) have even documented the case of a
seafloor destroyed by volcanic eruptions in the late 1960s. The
soft bottom macroinvertebrate species richness and diversity
from Arthur Harbor (Anvers Island) were investigated by Lowry
(1975) and Richardson and Hedgpeth (1977). Detailed analysis of
the soft-bottom polychaete diversity of Chile Bay (Greenwich
Island) was performed by Gallardo et al. (1988).
The marine ecosystem of Admiralty Bay (King George
Island, South Shetland Islands) has one of the most comprehensive
long-term data series of Antarctic benthic communities, along
with background environmental information. Early scientific
exploration dates back to 1908 with the 2nd French Antarctic
Expedition on board the Pourquoi Pas? (1908–1910) and was
followed by the Discovery expedition (1927).
More recently, intensive, diversified and continuous scientific
activities supported by the ‘Arctowski’ (Poland, since 1977) and
‘Comandante Ferraz’ (Brazil, since 1984) stations, and by the US
Antarctic Program at ASPA No. 128 (‘Peter J. Lenie’ field station)
have accumulated extensive biological and oceanographic infor-
mation from the area for more than 30 years. Research activities
at the Peruvian Machu Picchu Station (at Crepin Point) and at the
Ecuadorian refuge (at Hennequin Point) have occurred intermit-
tently during the summers. The area has also been investigated by
biologists from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. Some of
the studies carried out in Admiralty Bay are among the longest
undertaken in the Antarctic region.
Polish studies of the benthos of this area began with the
establishment of the ‘Henryk Arctowski’ Antarctic Station, in
February 1977, which allowed a systematic study of the structure
of the benthic communities, especially those occurring in Ezcurra
Inlet and in the central basin of the bay (e.g. Arnaud et al., 1986;
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/dsr2
Deep-Sea Research II
0967-0645/$ - see front matter &2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.09.005
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: + 48 42 635 42 92; fax: + 48 42 635 46 64.
E-mail address: sicinski@biol.uni.lodz.pl (J. Sicin
´ski).
Deep-Sea Research II 58 (2011) 30–48
Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski et al., 1986, 2001; Presler, 1986; Sicin
´ski, 1986, 2000,
2004; Zielin
´ski, 1990; B"az
˙ewicz and Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski, 1995, 1996;
Presler and Figielska, 1997; Ligowski, 2002; B"az
˙ewicz-
Paszkowycz and Sekulska-Nalewajko, 2004; Majewski, 2005;
Majewski and Olempska, 2005; W"odarska-Kowalczuk et al.,
2007; Pabis and Sicin
´ski, 2010a,b). During its early years of
research (1982–1988), the Brazilian Antarctic Programme was
mainly exploratory, aimed at gathering oceanographic data as
well as information on the diversity of benthic assemblages along
the Antarctic Peninsula and Bransfield Strait (Nonato et al.,
1992a). Since 1984, following the establishment of the ‘Coman-
dante Ferraz’ Antarctic Station at Keller Peninsula, most of the
Brazilian benthic research has been concentrated on the Martel
and Mackellar Inlets. Ecological studies have been carried out
describing the structure of the megafauna (W¨
agele and Brito,
1990; Nonato et al., 1992b, 2000; Echeverria et al., 2005),
macrofauna (Bromberg et al., 2000; Echeverria and Paiva, 2006;
Filgueiras et al., 2007), meiofauna (Skowronski et al., 1998;
Skowronski and Corbisier, 2002; Petti et al., 2006) and micro-
phytobenthos (Skowronski et al., 2009), and the trophic web
within the nearshore marine community (Corbisier et al., 2004).
Along with the northwestern North American and Siberian
Plateau, the western Antarctic Peninsula is one of the areas
showing the fastest rate of climate change on Earth (Vaughan
et al., 2003). Since the early 1950s, the Antarctic Peninsula region
has shown significant climate warming (Sim ~
oes et al., 1999;
Clarke et al., 2007; Turner et al., 2009 and references therein). It is
difficult to predict the exact oceanic temperature increase in this
region (Clarke et al., 2007), but the structure and functioning of
the benthic communities might be expected to respond to these
major changes in the environment (e.g. Barnes, 2005; Smale and
Barnes, 2008). In order to detect, predict and compare changes
occurring at different spatial and temporal scales, it is important
to establish baselines of the recent marine biota. Admiralty Bay
can be recognized as a suitable model for such purposes, owing to
the considerable amount of data collected in this area, which
ranks this region among the best known Antarctic areas.
The marine diversity of the Southern Ocean was recently
discussed by Gray (2001),Clarke and Johnston (2003) and Gutt
et al. (2004), and updated estimates are also presented by De
Broyer and Danis (2011). This study aims at summarizing all
available information about the benthos of Admiralty Bay, in
order to furnish a robust benchmark against which to evaluate
possible changes in its species richness, diversity and community
structure.
2. Material and methods
Admiralty Bay has been intensively sampled from the inter-
tidal to its deepest bottom areas (ca. 500 m), during the past 30
years. A variety of sampling methods and gears, such as corers,
grabs, trawls, baited traps and SCUBA diving, was used, depending
on the objectives of specific projects. Most quantitative sampling
of macrofaunal species has been performed using Van Veen grabs
(0.1 and 0.056 m
2
). Bottom samples were then washed through
44–62 and 300–500
m
m mesh size sieves to separate meiofauna
and macrofauna, respectively.
All organisms (e.g. meiofauna, macrofauna, megafauna, dia-
toms and macroalgae) were initially fixed in 4–10% formalin and
then transferred to 70% ethanol for storage. Seafloor images were
taken mostly in Ezcurra and Martel Inlets using remote cameras
and during SCUBA diving. The data records of all benthic samples
have been gathered and progressively digitized using the SCAR
Marine Biodiversity Information Network (www.scarmarbin.be)
data protocols into a dedicated database, the Admiralty Bay
Benthos Diversity Database (ABBED) (www.abbed.uni.lodz.pl).
This effort was established jointly by Poland, Belgium and Brazil
as a part of the International Polar Year 2007–2009 initiative
related to the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (www.caml.aq), and
is freely available to the scientific community. The resulting list of
species was matched against the World Register of Marine Species
(www.marinespecies.org) and SCARMarBIN’s Register of Antarctic
Marine Species.
3. Admiralty Bay environment—physico-chemical
background
3.1. General description
Admiralty Bay has an area of ca. 122 km
2
. The bay is a large
fjord of tectonic origin with a maximum depth of 535 m, three
main inlets (Ezcurra, Mackellar and Martel) and a wide opening
(8.25 km width) to the Bransfield Strait (Fig. 1)(Kruszewski,
2002). The Admiralty Bay seafloor has a complex bottom
topography and geomorphology. The very diverse shoreline and
seafloor as well as numerous glaciers, generating icebergs and
outflowing streams, provide a wide variety of habitats for benthic
and pelagic communities. Glaciers and ice-falls constitute about
half of the 83.4 km long shoreline of the bay.
The bathymetry and geomorphology of Ezcurra Inlet were
described by Marsz (1983), and those of Martel Inlet by Rodrigues
(unpubl. results). Mackellar Inlet was less studied. The seafloor in
Ezcurra Inlet is divided as follows: the oldest area at the eastern
side is a deep trough, while the youngest in the western side is the
shallowest, with an intricate bottom configuration. These two
parts are separated by a sill, which has considerable consequences
for the distribution of the benthos (Sicin
´ski, 2004). Martel Inlet
has a variety of geomorphologic features characterized by sharp
differences in small spatial scale, by extremely irregular seafloor
affected by local geology and tectonics as well as by glacial erosive
processes (Rodrigues, unpubl. results). The heterogeneity of the
seafloor in Admiralty Bay largely determines the local hydro-
dynamics, in conjunction with the circulation in the Bransfield
Strait (Szafran
´ski and Lipski, 1982).
3.2. Hydrology and hydrography
King George Island is located within the maritime Antarctic
region. The hydrology of Admiralty Bay is complex, as it receives
different contributions from water masses originating in the
Bransfield Strait, and also from ice melt within the bay (Szafran
´ski
and Lipski, 1982). Waters entering the bay from the Bransfield
Strait originate from either the adjacent Weddell Sea or Belling-
shausen Sea, depending on the regional water circulation, winds
and seasonal regime (Gordon and Nowlin, 1978). The influence of
the Bellingshausen Sea water, warmer and less saline (2.3 1Cand
33.5 psu), is usually pronounced in summer, whereas in winter the
Weddell Sea water, colder and more saline (0.8 1C and 34.4 psu),
prevail (Tokarczyk, 1987). The depth gradients of environmental
variables are shown in Fig. 2. The average tidal range in Admiralty
Bay is 1.4 m, but maximum tides can reach 2.1 m (Catewicz and
Kowalik, 1983). Tidal currents may reach 50 m s
1
, which are
caused by water exchange between the bay and the Bransfield
Strait. The complete exchange of upper water layer down to the
depth of 100 m takes ca. 1–2 weeks (Pruszak, 1980).
In general, Admiralty Bay surface waters are well oxygenated,
with values between 7.0 and 9.2 cm
3
L
1
in Ezcurra Inlet
(Sarukhanyan and Tokarczyk, 1988). Higher values of oxygen were
found in nearshore waters (9.4 cm
3
L
1
)(Samp, 1980; Lipski, 1987).
J. Sicin
´ski et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 58 (2011) 30–48 31
These authors observed also that the content of inorganic
phosphates was high, up to ca. 2.6
m
mole L
1
(even ca. 4.8
m
mol L
1
in areas neighbouring penguin colonies), the highest values being
found in summer (Samp, 1980). High nitrate content was also
found (over 30
m
mol L
1
)(Lipski, 1987). Generally, observed
nutrient ranges were 0.01–0.60
m
mol kg
1
for nitrites, 10.0 to ca.
34.0
m
mol kg
1
for nitrates, 73.0–90.0
m
mol kg
1
for silicates and
1.00–2.60
m
mol kg
1
for phosphates. The average concentrations
of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in the 1 m surface layer
amount to 1.054 and 0.129 mg dm
3
, respectively (N˛edzarek,
2008). Organic nitrogen and phosphorus constituted 59% of the
total nitrogen and 34% of the total phosphorus. Organic carbon in
the summer of 1979 ranged from 1.62 to 3.22 mg L
1
for DOC and
from 0.22 to 0.65 mg L
1
for POC with the subsurface water layers
(25–100 m) showing the highest values, and the lowest values
found close to glaciers (P˛echerzewski, 1980a).
Admiralty Bay freezes at irregular intervals, e.g. during 11
winters in 20 years (from 1977 to 1996) as recorded by
Kruszewski (1999). Recently, total freezing has occurred less
frequently with gaps from 5 to 6 years.
3.3. Suspended matter
Mean values of suspended matter in the Southern Ocean range
from 1 to 2 mg L
1
(Lisitzyn, 1969). Values in Admiralty Bay
exceed by several times those found elsewhere in open Antarctic
waters (P˛echerzewski, 1980b). The content of suspended inor-
ganic matter strongly fluctuates along the coastal zone of the bay,
depending on season and area. Usually, the suspended matter has
a prevailing inorganic fraction originated from the iceberg melt
(P˛echerzewski, 1980b; Jonasz, 1983), wind-transported dust, but
mostly from the melt water feeding the bay (Jonasz, 1983). The
lowest values (2.8 mg L
1
) were observed in winter, in the central
part of the bay (P˛echerzewski, 1980b), and the maximum values
(ca. 270 mg L
1
) were recorded in summer in Herve Cove, a small
lagoon close to the inflowing glacial stream (Piechura, unpubl.
results). High amounts of mineral suspended matter ( 4100 mg L
1
)
were recorded in summer in front of the glacier cliffs (P˛echerzewski,
1980b).
It has been calculated that about 2000 tons of mineral
suspended matter is transferred daily from land to the bay in
summer (P˛echerzewski, 1980b). Part of this amount is carried
away by the surface current out to the Bransfield Strait and the
rest is spread unevenly over the bay’s seafloor. Water transpar-
ency is related to the amount of suspended matter, ranging from
2 m in the fjords, in summer, to 32 m in the central area of the
bay, in winter (Lipski, 1987). This latter value is equivalent to
about 2.5 mg L
1
of suspended matter in the water.
3.4. Bottom sediments
The Admiralty Bay seafloor consists of boulders, pebbles and
gravel in the intertidal, mainly gravel and sand in the shallow
subtidal and mud (silty clay sand and sandy clay silt) down to its
deepest bottom areas (Gruber, unpublished; Nonato et al.,
1992a,b; Rudowski and Marsz, 1996; Sicin
´ski, 2004). The bottom
sediments include various fractions of randomly distributed
clastic materials transported to the bay by the glaciers and
subglacial streams or drifting ice. The grain size (
j
scale) of the
deposits studied by Sicin
´ski (2004) and by Sicin
´ski and Tatur
(unpubl. results) shows the entire spectrum from medium sands
to very fine silt (Fig. 3). These deposits are poorly and very poorly
Fig. 1. Study area – Admiralty Bay.
J. Sicin
´ski et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 58 (2011) 30–4832
sorted and always contain a significant portion of very coarse
sand, gravel and numerous dropstones. The thickness of the
deposited layer ranges from over a dozen to several dozen meters,
reaching a maximum of 150 m, as a young depositional cover
most likely originating from the deglaciation of the last Holocene
glaciation (Rudowski and Marsz, 1996).
The interstitial water of Admiralty Bay’s sediments has rather
high pH values, from 7.7 to 9.7, showing high levels of dissolved
alkaline elements (Schaefer et al., 2004). Sediment interstitial water
salinity shows a similarity at 20 and 60 m (35 and 34 psu,
respectively), and is slightly higher at 30 m (37 psu) (Maciel, unpubl.
results). Mean values of total organic matter in Martel Inlet have
been estimated as 8.6972.67% (mean7SD) (Schaefer et al., 2004;
Santos et al., 2005), with relatively low concentrations of total
organic carbon (C
org
)at20,30and60m(0.3970.16%, 0.4970.31%
and 0.4170.15%, respectively), with no correlation between the C
org
and the fractions of silt and clay in the sediment (Maciel, unpubl.
results). Bio-available phosphorus content in the sediment was
relatively high, between 116 and 380 mg kg
1
(Schaefer et al.,
2004), showing evidence of a continuity between the phosphorus-
rich land sources and the phosphorus-poor marine environment.
Interestingly, the phosphorus concentrations are highest in those
coastal sediments that are under strong ice scour.
4. Admiralty Bay benthic species richness and diversity
The taxa inventory of Admiralty Bay revealed the presence of
almost 1300 benthic species, including diatoms, foraminiferans,
macroalgae, invertebrates and demersal fish but excluding
bacteria, fungi and parasites (Table 1), probably making Admiralty
Bay the only place in the Antarctic with such a comprehensive list
of benthic species. The most complete lists of taxa were obtained
for Bacillariophyta, macroalgae, Foraminifera, Polychaeta, Cuma-
cea, Tanaidacea, Amphipoda, Asteroidea and Bryozoa. Other taxa
such as Nematoda, Porifera, Cnidaria, Echinoidea, Crinoidea and
Isopoda are still not sufficiently studied in the area. Admiralty Bay
is notably the type locality for several of these benthic species: 2
Foraminifera, 4 Polychaeta, 1 Bivalvia, 2 Amphipoda, 1 Cumacea, 1
Isopoda, 1 Tanaidacea and 1 Pisces (Chevreux, 1913; Hartmann-
Schr¨
oder and Rosenfeldt, 1989; Teodorczyk and W¨
agele, 1994;
Sko
´ra, 1995; B"az
˙ewicz-Paszkowycz and Heard, 2001; B"az
˙ewicz-
Paszkowycz, 2004; Passos and Domaneschi, 2006; Vale
´rio-
Berardo and Piera, 2006; Sinniger et al., 2008; Majewski and
Tatur, 2009).
The most important groups in terms of abundance are
Polychaeta, Bivalvia and Amphipoda (Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski et al., 1986;
Sicin
´ski, 2004). The bulk of macrofauna biomass consists of
Ascidiacea, Bryozoa and Polychaeta but in some areas (e.g. Ezcurra
Inlet and Martel Inlet) Bivalvia and/or Echinodermata also show a
considerably high biomass.
5. Benthic community structure
5.1. Soft bottom communities
5.1.1. Microphytobenthos
Microphytobenthos is an important source of primary produc-
tion in the Antarctic, particularly in coastal zones (Gilbert, 1991).
Fig. 2. Selected parameters of the water column (range and mean) in the central basin of Admiralty Bay, constructed on the basis of the data of Lipski (1987).
J. Sicin
´ski et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 58 (2011) 30–48 33
Ligowski (1993, 2002) estimated that in the stony bottom littoral
zone of Admiralty Bay the average concentration of chlorophyll a
was ca. 200 mg m
2
during summer. In the soft bottom
sublittoral the diatom density was estimated as 6 10
2
to
610
6
cells cm
3
. Rich diatom assemblages were found in
different benthic habitats: 108 taxa of benthic diatoms were
found in the stony littoral, 97 in the soft bottom sublittoral, 83 on
macrophytes and 85 on various invertebrates (Ligowski, 2002).
Approximate densities of diatoms per cm
2
of substratum
averaged as follows: 0–1 10
7
in the littoral zone, 6 10
2
to
610
6
in the sublittoral, 3.5 10
5
on basal disc or rhizoids of
macroalgae, 0–0.5 10
6
on branches of macroalgae, 2 10
5
on
macrophyte fronds, about 10
6
on sponges, 2.7 10
4
on oral discs
of anemones, 8.6 10
3
on their column wall and 10
5
on
bryozoans (Ligowski, 2002).
The sublittoral microphytobenthos biomass (expressed as
chlorophyll aand phaeopigment content) was measured in three
summer periods at several sites within Martel Inlet at depths from
10 to 60 m (Skowronski and Corbisier, 2002; Skowronski et al.,
2009). Mean biomass values were inversely related to the
depth gradient and showed a high spatial and interannual
variability. There was also a reduction in the Chl a/Phaeo ratio
in relation to depth, from 3.273.2 at 10–20 m to 0.771.0
at 40–60 m.
5.1.2. Meiofauna
Studies on meiofauna in Admiralty Bay started in 1991, when
samples were collected through SCUBA diving in Martel Inlet.
In general, the dominant groups retained in a 44
m
m mesh size
screen were Nematoda and Harpacticoida, followed by nauplii
and polychaetes. The density of meiofauna in Martel Inlet,
excluding the ice scour affected areas, was high, and varied from
352372117 to 76417388 ind 10 cm
2
(mean7SD) at depths of
6–11 m, and from 347971205 to 821673030 ind 10 cm
2
at
depths of 18–25 m (Skowronski et al., 1998). Further studies at
Martel Inlet during two consecutive summers revealed that high
meiofaunal densities are characteristic for this whole inlet, and
generally are correlated with the proportion of gravel, silt and clay
(Skowronski and Corbisier, 2002). Also, a positive correlation
between the biomass of the microphytobenthos and meiofaunal
densities was observed during the second summer, when the
biomass of the microphytobenthos was approximately 25% lower
than that in the first summer (Skowronski et al., 2009).
Nematodes are the dominant meiofaunal group on Martel Inlet
soft bottoms, representing more than 85% of the meiofauna in
terms of abundance at depths from 6 to 60 m. So far, 98 genera
belonging to 28 families have been identified (Skowronski,
unpublished; Gheller, unpublished). The most frequent nematode
genera recorded in Admiralty Bay belonged to non-selective
Fig. 3. Admiralty Bay soft bottom macrozoobenthic communities versus sediment diversity (sediment types distribution). (A) the distribution of communities; (B) bottom
deposits typical of 5 distinguished communities (Shepard’s (1954) sediment classification); (C) bottom deposits typical of 5 distinguished communities, characterized by
j
units and sorting coefficient (S
o
) (the description of communities in Table 2).
J. Sicin
´ski et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 58 (2011) 30–4834
Table 1
Admiralty Bay benthos species richness, key species and ecology (a detailed checklist of benthic species is available upon request from the first author).
Taxa Approx. no. of
marine species
worldwide (from
different
sources)
Approx.
no of
species
in the
Antarctic
No. of
recognized
species in
Admiralty
Bay
Habitat/substrate Trophic group(s) Most common and/or abundant species Only the main references concerning
Admiralty Bay species richness and
abundance
Bacillariophyta 5000 200 157
a
Ubiquitous Primary producers Shore sea-ice: Navicula glaciei; littoral: Fragilaria striatula,
Achnanthes charcoti; sublittoral: Odontela weisflogii, Paralia
sol, Rhabdonema arcuatum; resting spores of planktonic
Thalassiosira sp. and Chaetoceros spp.; epiphytic: Cocconeis
costata, Eutopyla ocellata, Pseudogomphonema
kamtschaticum; on invertebrates: Navicula directa, Navicula
sp., Eutopyla sp.
Ligowski (2002), Ligowski (unpubl. results)
Macroalgae 10,000 120 55 Hard substrate and
epiphytes
Primary producers Littoral: Enteromorpha sp., Ulothrix sp., Urospora
penicilliformis, Adenocystis utricularis; shallow sublittoral:
Monostroma harriotii, Protomonostroma undulatum, Iridaea
cordata, Curdiaea racovitzae, Gigartina skottsbergii,
Adenocystis utricularis, Ascoseira mirabilis; deeper sublittoral:
Leptosarca simplex, Georgiella confluens, Plocamium
cartilagineum, Desmarestia spp., Himantothallus grandifolius
Zielin
´ski (1981, 1990),Oliveira et al. (2009)
Foraminifera 10,000 No data 135
b
Soft and hard bottom,
epiphytic
Eurytopic, extremely common: Globocassidulina biora; other
very common: Cassidulinoides parkerianus, Spiroplectammina
biformis, Nodulina dentaliniformis; deepest sublittoral:
Astrononion echolsi
Gaz
´dzicki and Majewski (2003),Majewski,
(2005),Majewski et al. (2007),Rodrigues
(unpublished),Sinniger et al. (2008)
Porifera 10,000 300 17
c
Soft and hard bottom Suspension feeders Haliclona sp., Hymeniacidon sp., Iophon sp., Isodictya sp.,
Mycale sp., Phorbas domini, Rossella sp.
Pisera (1997),Campos et al. (2007a,b), Hajdu
(unpubl. results)
Cnidaria 10,000 400 7
c
Soft and hard bottom Suspension feeders,
predators
Isosicyonis alba, Ascolepis sp., Edwardsia sp. Nonato et al. (2000),Pen
˜a Cantero and
Vervoort (2009),Sicin
´ski et al. (1996)
Nematoda 4000 350 98 genera
c
Soft and hard bottom Deposit feeders,
epistrate feeders,
predators/omnivores
Shallow sublitoral: Sabatieria sp., Odontophora sp.,
Axonolaimus sp., Paralinhomoeus sp., Daptonema sp.,
Aponema sp., Microlaimus sp., Dichromadora sp.,
Prochromadorella sp., Acantholaimus sp.
Skowronski (unpublished),Gheller
(unpublished)
Polychaeta 9000 550 162 All possible substrata: soft
and hard bottom, biogenic
structures: macroalgae,
sponges, ascidians,
bryozoans
Herbivores,
carnivores,
suspension feeders,
surface and
subsurface deposit-
feeders
Shallow sublittoral (5–40 m): Scoloplos marginatus, Travisia
kerguelensis, Apistobranchus sp. and Mesospio moorei; overall
common: Leitoscoloplos kerguelensis, Tauberia gracilis,
Ophelina syringopyge, Rhodine intermedia, Tharyx cincinnatus,
Aricidea strelzovi, Cirrophorus brevicirratus, Maldane sarsi
antarctica, Aglaophamus trissophyllus, Asychis amphiglypta
Sicin
´ski (1986, 2000, 2004),Sicinski and
Janowska (1993),Bromberg et al. (2000),
Petti et al. (2006),Pabis and Sicin
´ski
(2010a,b)
Nemertina ? 30 No data Soft and hard bottom Detritivores,
scavengers
Nearshore zone (down to 20 m depth) scavenger:
Parborlasia corrugatus
Presler (1986),Nonato et al. (2000),
Jazdzewski et al. (2001)
Sipuncula ? 16 1 Soft bottom ? Golfingia (Golfingia)margaritacea margaritacea K˛edra (unpubl. results)
Gastropoda 25,000 550 48
d
Soft and hard bottom Detritivores,
scavengers,
herbivores
Uppermost sublittoral: Nacella concinna, Laevilittorina
antarctica, Laevilacunaria bransfieldensis; sublittoral:
Laevilittorina antarctica, Onoba turqueti, Amauropsis grisea,
Skenella paludinoides, Margarita antarctica;
Arnaud et al. (1986),Presler (1986),Filcek
(1993),Jazdzewski et al. (2001),Nonato et al.
(2000), Schiaparelli (unpubl. results)
scavengers: Neobuccinum eatoni, Harpovoluta charcoti,
Chlanidota elongata
Bivalvia 6000 160 39
d
Soft and hard bottom,
epiphytic
Filter feeders Mysella charcoti, Genaxinus debilis, Laternula elliptica, Yoldia
eightsi
Arnaud et al. (1986),Sicin
´ski et al. (1996),
Absher and Feijo
´(1998),Nonato et al. (2000),
Schiaparelli (unpubl. results)
Pycnogonida 1300 180 29
d
Hard bottom, kelp holdfasts,
sessile animals
Carnivores,
detritophages
Nymphon biarticulatum, Austrodecus glaciale Gordon (1932),Arnaud et al. (1986), Bamber
(unpubl. results)
J. Sicin
´ski et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 58 (2011) 30–48 35
Table 1 (continued )
Taxa Approx. no. of
marine species
worldwide (from
different
sources)
Approx.
no of
species
in the
Antarctic
No. of
recognized
species in
Admiralty
Bay
Habitat/substrate Trophic group(s) Most common and/or abundant species Only the main references concerning
Admiralty Bay species richness and
abundance
Ostracoda 6000 240 45 Soft and mixed bottom Fitler feeders, deposit
feeders, predators/
scavengers
Philomedes charcoti; Scleroconcha gallardoi; Cytheropteron
acuticaudatum, Loxoreticulatum fallax
Majewski and Olempska (2005),B"az
˙ewicz
and Parker (1997), Szczechura (unpubl.
results)
Cumacea 1500 80 15 Soft bottom Suspension feeders;
deposit feeders;
predators/scavengers
Shallow waters: Eudorella splendida, Vauthompsonia inermis,
Campylaspis maculata; deeper waters: Ekleptostylis debroyeri,
Leucon sagitta
B"az
˙ewicz and Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski (1995),B"az
˙ewicz-
Paszkowycz and Heard (2001), Blazewicz-
Paszkowycz and Ligowski (2002), B"az
˙ewicz-
Paszkowycz (unpubl. results)
Isopoda 5200 500 55
d
Soft and hard bottom and on
fish
Omnivores;
scavengers;
detritivores;
predators; filter
feeders; fish parasites
Shallow sublittoral: Spinoserolis beddardi, Paraserolis polita,
Munna neglecta, M. jazdzewskii, Cymodocella tubicauda;
deeper sublittoral: Munna antarctica, Notopais quadrispinosa,
Austrofilius sp., Joeropsis sp.; common scavenger: Glyptonotus
antarcticus s.l.
Arnaud et al. (1986),Presler (1986),W¨
agele
and Brito (1990),Pires and Sumida (1997),
Teodorczyk and W¨
agele (1994), Teodorczyk
(unpubl. results); Malyutina (unpubl. results)
Tanaidacea 1100 130 14 Soft bottom Deposit feeders Shallow sublittoral: Nototanais antarcticus, Typhlotanais
grahami; deeper sublittoral: Paraeospinosus pushkini,
Ekleptostylis debroyeri
B"az
˙ewicz-Paszkowycz and Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski
(2000), Blazewicz-Paszkowycz and Ligowski
(2002), B"az
˙ewicz-Paszkowycz (2004),
B"az
˙ewicz-Paszkowycz and Sekulska-
Nalewajko (2004)
Amphipoda 7000 550 172 Soft and hard bottom Omnivores;
scavengers;
detritivores;
predators; filter
feeders; herbivores
Littoral: Gondogeneia antarctica; shallowest stony sublittoral
(0–1 m): G. antarctica, Paramoera edouardi; sandy sublittoral
(5–30 m): Prostebbingia brevicornis, P. gracilis, Schraderia
gracilis, Hippomedon kergueleni, Cheirimedon femoratus;
deeper muddy sublittoral: Heterophoxus videns, Waldeckia
obesa,Schraderia gracilis; deepest sublittoral: Urothoe sp.,
Cephalophoxoides kergueleni,Harpiniopsis aciculum;
scavengers: shallow sublittoral (5–30 m): Cheirimedon
femoratus, Hippomedon kergueleni; deeper sublittoral (60–
90 m): Waldeckia obesa, Abyssorchomen e plebs
Arnaud et al. (1986),Presler (1986),
Wakabara et al. (1990),Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski et al.
(1991a,b, 1995),Munn et al. (1999),De
Broyer et al. (2007), Jaz
˙dz
˙ewska, (unpubl.
results)
Asteroidea 1500 200 38 Soft and hard bottom Predators, detrivores;
scavengers
Shallow sublittoral: Odontaster validus, Cryptasterias turqueti,
Granaster nutrix, Neosmilaster georgianus; deeper sublittoral:
Psilaster charcoti
Koehler (1912),Grieg (1929),Fisher (1940),
Arnaud et al. (1986),Presler (1986),Presler
and Figielska (1997)
Scavengers: Odontaster validus, Lysasterias hemiora
Ophiuroidea 3000 130 27 Soft and hard bottom Predators,
planktivores,
coprophages,
scavengers
Upper sublittoral: Ophionotus victoriae, Amphioplus affinis,
Ophiomages cristatus; deep central basin: Ophiuroglypha
carinifera, Ophiolimna antarctica, Ophioplinthus grisea;
scavenger: Ophionotus victoriae
Grieg (1929),Mortensen (1936),Arnaud et al.
(1986),Presler (1986),Presler (1993a),
Nonato et al. (2000)
Echinoidea 1000 80 5
c
Soft and hard bottom Herbivores,
carnivores
Sterechinus neumayeri, Abatus sp. Grieg (1929),Arnaud et al. (1986),Nonato
et al. (2000)
Holothurioidea 1400 140 10
d
Soft and hard and epizoic Suspension feeders;
deposit feeders
Sublittoral: Cucumaria georgiana, Heterocucumis steineni,
Staurocucumis turqueti, Trachythyone bouvetensis,
Cucumariidae sp. 1; Psolidium gaini, Psolus charcoti, P.
koehleri, Molpadia musculus
Grieg (1929),Arnaud et al. (1986),Moura
(unpublished)
Crinoidea 600 40 1
c
Hard and mixed bottom Suspension feeders Promachocrinus kerguelensis Grieg (1929),Arnaud et al. (1986)
Bryozoa 5000 400 67
d
Hard and mixed bottom Filter feeders Nematoflustra flagellata, Isosecuriflustra thyasica, I. angusta, I.
tenuis, Klugeflustra antarctica, Cellarinella sp., Cellaria diversa,
Camptoplites sp., Reteporella frigida, Antarcticaetos bubeccata
Moyano (1979), Kuklin
´ski (unpubl. results)
Ascidiacea 5000 110 16
d
Hard and mixed bottom Filter feeders Molgula pedunculata, M. enodis Oliveira (unpublished)
Demersal fish ? 200 30 Soft and hard bottom Predators,
planktivores
Shallow sublittoral: Gobionotothen gibberifrons, Notothenia
neglecta, N. rossi, Lepidonotothen nudifrons; deeper
sublittoral: Gobionotothen gibberifrons
Skora and Neyelov (1992),Sko
´ra (1995),
Zadro
´z
˙ny (1996)
a
Contains also planktonic species, found living on the bottom.
b
Contains also subfossil Foraminifera.
c
Very poorly recognized group.
J. Sicin
´ski et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 58 (2011) 30–4836
deposit feeders and epistrate feeders (Table 1). The diversity of
genera has been associated with sediment grain size and
availability of food, mainly microphytobenthos (Skowronski,
unpublished; Gheller, unpublished).
A study on meiofaunal polychaetes in the nearshore zone of
Martel Inlet showed that more than 70% were young individuals
mainly of three species: Apistobranchus glacierae, Leitoscoloplos
kerguelensis and Ophryotrocha notialis. However, these are con-
sidered to be temporary meiofauna, and their distribution patterns
were strongly related to the distribution of macrofaunal poly-
chaetes in the same area (Bromberg et al., 2000; Petti et al., 2006).
5.1.3. Macrofauna
Macrofauna of the soft sediments in Admiralty Bay is mostly
composed of polychaetes, oligochaetes, bivalves and crustaceans
such as amphipods, cumaceans and isopods (Table 2)(Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski
et al., 1986, 1991a,b; Sicin
´ski, 2000, 2004; Bromberg, unpub-
lished; Echeverria, unpublished; Filgueiras et al., 2007).
The mean density of the soft bottom macrozoobenthos of the
bay was ca. 6500 ind m
2
. Maximum densities can reach over
36,000 ind m
2
(Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski et al., 1986). The highest density
values were found for bivalves, polychaetes and amphipods. Mass
occurrence of Amphipoda was recorded in the shallowest
sublittoral (Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski et al., 1991b). In shallow depths the most
abundant species amongst the bivalves were Mysella charcoti and
Yoldia eightsi (Arnaud et al., 1986; Sicin
´ski et al., 1996; Bromberg,
unpublished). In the depth range 5–30 m, in the central part of
the bay the most conspicuous amphipods were: Hippomedon
kergueleni, Prostebbingia brevicornis, Prostebbingia gracilis,
Cheirimedon femoratus and Schraderia gracilis (Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski et al.,
1991a,b). Between 50 and 200 m Heterophoxus videns,Waldeckia
obesa and S. gracilis were recorded in high numbers; in the
deepest part of the bay (more than 200 m) Urothoe sp.,
Cephalophoxoides kergueleni and Harpiniopsis aciculum predomi-
nate (Jaz
˙dz
˙ewska, in press) (see Tables 1 and 2).
In the soft bottom, at depths below 100 m, polychaetes
L. kerguelensis and Levinsenia gracilis, with density values for each
species as high as 1600 ind m
2
, and the tubiculous polychaetes
Maldane sarsi antarctica and Asychis amphiglypta, with densities up
to 3000 ind m
2
each, were recorded (Sicin
´ski, 1986, 2000, 2004;
W¨
agele and Brito, 1990; Bromberg et al., 2000). These two last-
mentioned subsurface deposit feeders comprised the bulk of the
zoobenthic community in terms of both density and biomass.
The mean wet weight of the soft bottom zoobenthos is
700 g m
2
, with 500–900 g m
2
falling within its 95% confidence
limits (Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski et al., 1986, Jaz
˙dzewski and Sicin
´ski, 1993).
Exceptionally high biomass values, reaching up to 7 kg m
2
, were
recorded within the zone of high abundance of ascidians and
bryozoan colonies. These animals, along with echinoderms,
polychaetes and bivalves, form the bulk of the biomass of bottom
assemblages in the central part of the bay. The total biomass
of the benthic fauna inhabiting the entire bottom surface
of Admiralty Bay was estimated to be around 67,000 tons
(Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski et al., 1986). Rich aggregations of sessile suspen-
sion-feeders (Ascidiacea and Bryozoa) were patchily distributed
and, together with Ophiuroidea, comprised the bulk of the
biomass in the central part of the bay at depths from 30 to
300 m (Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski et al., 1986; Jaz
˙dzewski and Sicin
´ski, 1993). In
general a depth-related gradient in benthic biomass was observed
in the central basin, from low biomass in the shallow subtidal
zone down to 30–40 m depth (mean ca. 300 g m
2
) to the highest
biomass noted between 100 and 200 m (ca. 1500 g m
2
with the
range from 300 to 2300 g m
2
). However, the macrofaunal
biomass decreases again to approximately 300 g m
2
between
300 and 500 m depth (Fig. 4). Echiura, Scaphopoda and Pycnogonida,
which are usually not abundant in the shallower sublittoral,
are much more numerous in the deepest zones from 300 to
500 m. There, Echiurans comprised a very significant part (up to
60%) of the total macrozoobenthic biomass. Conversely, the
maximum abundances and biomasses of Polyplacophora and
Amphipoda were recorded in the shallowest nearshore zone,
down to 30–40 m (Jaz
˙dzewski and Sicin
´ski, 1993;Pabis et al., in
press). However, in glacially affected areas within Ezcurra Inlet
the macrozoobenthic biomass distribution was unrelated to
depth.
With regard to the polychaete and amphipod density (Sicin
´ski,
2004; Jaz
˙dz
˙ewska, in press; respectively) and the invertebrate
biomass (Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski et al., 1986; Jaz
˙dzewski and Sicin
´ski, 1993;
Pabis et al., in press) the 30–40 m isobath was the significant
zoocoenological boundary in the central part of the bay. Similar
megafauna distribution patterns were observed in Martel Inlet,
the 20–25 m depth being a boundary mostly related to ice
disturbance in the shallow sublittoral (Nonato et al., 2000;
Echeverria et al., 2005).
Studies on macrofauna in front of Ferraz Station during the
1989/1990, 1990/1991 and 1994/1995 austral summers were
carried out using corers taken by SCUBA diving in one transect
at 6, 11, 18 and 25 m. Significant differences in macrofaunal
densities were observed in relation to depth and between
summer seasons. Highest densities were often found in the
deepest stations, which were well correlated with sediment grain
size and organic matter, although ice scours reduced the densities
significantly at 18 m (Bromberg et al., 2000). The dominant
organisms at the shallowest stations (6 and 11 m) were the
bivalves, amphipods, and the polychaetes O. notialis and Mesospio
cf. moorei. The polychaetes A. glacierae,L. kerguelensis,Tharyx cf.
cincinnatus,Capitella perarmata and Ophelina spp., as well as the
amphipod Paraperioculodes brevirostris, were dominant from 18 to
25 m.
Macrofaunal communities dominated by annelids (poly-
chaetes and oligochaetes) were studied by Echeverria (unpub-
lished),Bromberg (unpublished) and Lavrado et al. (unpubl.
results) in Martel Inlet. Seasonal and interannual fluctuations in
abundance and dominance of the benthic community were
observed (Figs. 5 and 6). The total density of macrofauna
diminished in winter mainly because of the reduction in the
number of polychaetes. Changes in macrofauna abundance
observed even during short summer intervals (2–3 months)
probably due to the increase in organic input from primary
production throughout the season. Interannual and seasonal
changes in the composition of the macrofauna (Fig. 6) possibly
reflect the variation in the process of ice formation and ice melt
within the bay.
Five main soft-bottom communities were distinguished in
Admiralty Bay in the area from inner parts of Ezcurra Inlet to the
central basin of the bay (Fig. 3;Table 2). The classification was
based mainly on the polychaete distribution analysis by Sicin
´ski
(2004).
An intensive deglaciation process was recently observed along
the shores of Admiralty Bay. Numerous small and shallow basins
and lagoons strongly influenced by glacial freshwater and mineral
suspension inflow arose in these areas. The macroinvertebrate
community was dominated here by some amphipod species,
mostly C. femoratus, and polychaetes, with the most typical being
Mesospio moorei (Sicin
´ski et al., 1996; Sicin
´ski, unpubl. results).
5.1.4. Megafauna
The megafauna of Admiralty Bay consists mainly of large vagile
organisms, such as some polychaetes (e.g. Laetmonice producta,
Aglaophamus trissophyllus), numerous seastars, some crustaceans
J. Sicin
´ski et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 58 (2011) 30–48 37
Table 2
Classification of soft bottom macrozoobenthos communities, characteristics of the main substrate types and their inhabitants (Ezcurra Inlet and central part of Admiralty Bay).
Sea bottom type Depth
range (m)
Other environmental and/or
biological factors
Most common and abundant taxa Macrozoobenthos
density (ind m
2
)
Macrozoobenthos
biomass (g m
2
)
References
1. Shallow subtidal
sandy bottom
0–15 Central basin of Admiralty
Bay, far from glaciers
Amphipods
(34 species)
Hippomedon kergueleni, Monoculodes
scabriculosus, Cardenio paurodactylus,
Prostebbingia brevicornis, P. gracilis,
Parapinia rotundifrons
1900–25,000 (mean:
1000)
90–260 (mean: 200) Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski et al. (1986,
1991a,b),Sicinski and
Janowska (1993),Sicin
´ski
(2004), Sicin
´ski (unpubl.
results)Serolid isopods Numerous Paraserolis polita,
Spinoserolis beddardi
Megaepifauna Sterechinus neumayeri and Abatus
shackletoni present in the deeper
parts
Burrowing bivalves Mysella charcoti and Yoldia eightsi
Polychaetes
(31 species)
Travisia kerguelensis and Mesospio
moorei (highest biomass);
Scoloplos marginatus (highest
abundance)
2. Shallow subtidal,
poorly sorted
deposits
10–40 Ezcurra Inlet steep slope,
relatively far from glaciers,
highly heterogeneous
sediment with sand, silt and
clay mixed with granules,
pebbles and cobbles
Megaepifauna Sterechinus neumayeri, ophiuroids:
Ophionotus victoriae and Amphioplus
acutus, seastars Odontaster validus
and Cuenotaster involutus,
nemertean Parborlasia corrugatus
and giant sea anemone Urticinopsis
sp.
1500–40,000 10–4000 (mean:
1000)
B"az
˙ewicz and
Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski (1995, 1996),
B"az
˙ewicz-Paszkowycz
and Sekulska-Nalewajko
(2004),Sicin
´ski (2004),
Jaz
˙dz
˙ewska (unpubl.
results)
Polychaetes
(35 species)
Apistobranchus glacierae
(dominant) and eurytopic
Leitoscoloplos kerguelensis and
Ophelina syringopyge
Amphipods
(15 species)
Heterophoxus videns, H. trichosus,
Monoculodes scabriculosus
Cumaceans (most abundant:
Eudorella splendida and
Campylaspis maculata) tanaids
(most abundant: Peraeospinosus
sp., Nototanais dimorphus and N.
antarcticus)
3. Silt clay, flat inlet
seafloor
50–150 Ezcurra Inlet; activity of
subglacial streams; silt and
clay with extremely poor
fauna; biomass increases due
to the presence of single large
animals (megafauna), such as
ophiuroids, asteroids,
echinoids, terebellid
polychaetes or bivalves
(mostly Laternula elliptica and
Yoldia eightsi)
Polychaetes
(16 species)
Dominants: Leitoscoloplos
kerguelensis, Tharyx cincinnatus and
Ophelina syringopyge
10007740
(mean7SD)
70757 (mean 7SD) Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski et al. (1986),
Sicin
´ski (2004),
Jaz
˙dz
˙ewska (unpubl.
results)Amphipods
(17 species)
Dominants: Heterophoxus
trichosus, H. videns
4. Mid-sublittoral
muddy bottom
50–270 Central basin of Admiralty
Bay, poorly sorted silty sand
and silty clay sand bottom
with high concentrations of
organic matter. Occasionally
abundant aggregations of
ascidians and bryozoan
Polychaetes
(490 species)
Dominants: Maldane sarsi
anatarctica, Asychis amphiglypta,
Aricidea strelzovi, Cirrophorus
brevicirratus, Tauberia gracilis
10007980
(mean7SD)
Jaz
˙dzewski and Sicin
´ski
(1993),Sicin
´ski (2004),
Jaz
˙dz
˙ewska (unpubl.
results)
Amphipods
(490 species)
Dominants: Heterophoxus videns,
Caprellidae, Schraderia gracilis,
Urothoe sp., Waldeckia obesa
J. Sicin
´ski et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 58 (2011) 30–4838
(isopods: Glyptonotus antarcticus s.l. and serolids, shrimps:
Chorismus antarcticus and Notocrangon antarcticus), the nemertean
Parborlasia corrugatus, sea urchins (Sterechinus neumayeri and
some Abatus species), ophiuroids (mostly Ophionotus victoriae),
nudibranchs, and some large sessile animals, such as sponges,
large sabellid polychaetes, bryozoans, ascidians and cnidarians
(Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski et al., 1986; W¨
agele and Brito, 1990; Nonato et al.,
2000; Pabis and Sicin
´ski, 2010a). Some other large animals, such
as the bivalves Laternula elliptica and Y. eightsi and some maldanid
(e.g. Isocirrus yungi) and terebellid (e.g Amphitrite kerguelensis)
polychaetes, are buried in the sediment.
The megafauna is not abundant in shallow water down to
15–20 m depth. The species richness and abundance increase
below 20–25 m. Ascidians, echinoderms, polychaetes and bivalves
compose the bulk of biomass of megafauna in soft sediments.
SCUBA-diving observations at Martel Inlet along a transect
(6–25 m) revealed that only a few species of megafauna, such as
Nacella concinna, few amphipod species and the isopod Frontoserolis
polita were common in the shallowest areas down to 12 m. Sessile
organisms (anemones, sponges, ascidians) appeared below this
depth (Fig. 7). Also below 12 m, the gastropod Neobuccinum eatoni,
the bivalve L. elliptica, the nemertean P. corrugatus and the sea-
urchin S. neumayeri appeared in the highest numbers (Nonato et al.,
2000). At 25 m depth the bottom becomes less steep and
the sediments are composed of fine sand mixed with silt and clay,
with occasional dropstones. At this depth a more diverse fauna
occurs. L. elliptica, sponges, ascidians and anemones, as well as the
isopod Glyptonotus antarcticus s. l., the ophiuroid O. victoriae and
different species of seastars (e.g., Labidiaster annulatus,Odontaster
validus), are more abundant at this depth (Fig. 7). Between 25 and
45 m, the megabenthic community is structured additionally by
high numbers of pennatulacean octocorals and the ophiuroid
Amphioplus acutus.
5.2. Hard bottom communities
5.2.1. Intertidal
Amphipods, Gondogeneia antarctica and Paramoera edouardi
(Opalin
´ski and Sicin
´ski, 1995), and the limpet N. concinna are the
most important components of the invertebrate assemblage on
rocky and stony (boulders, cobbles and pebbles) bottom in the
littoral zone. Also, several benthic diatoms (at least 15 taxa) and
also marine invertebrates such as turbellarians, the nemertean
Antarctonemertes validum, polychaetes, the gastropod Laevilittorina
caliginosa, the bivalve Lasaea consanguinea, the acarid Alaskozetes
antarcticus, some pycnogonids, amphipods and copepods were
found in this zone by Campos L.S. (unpubl. results). The most
abundant groups were molluscs (214 ind 0.56 m
2
) and turbel-
larians (167 ind 0.56 m
2
) followed by crustaceans (37 ind
0.56 m
2
).
The mean density of N. concinna from different littoral sites
in the southern shores of Admiralty Bay was estimated as
10–200 ind m
2
(Filcek, 1993). This author has estimated the
mean density and mean biomass of this gastropod to be ca.
65 ind m
2
and ca. 130 g m
2
(range 50–300 g m
2
), respectively.
5.2.2. Uppermost subtidal stony sublittoral
The uppermost sublittoral stony bottom is characterized by
the additional presence of gravel and sand. Macroalgal detritus
occurs abundantly in spaces between the stones. This zone has a
highly abundant vagile fauna, but with low species richness and
diversity. It is typically dominated by seven species of amphipods
(85%), five species of gastropods (11%) and some nemerteans (3%).
The most common amphipods found in this zone are G. antarctica
and P. edouardi (more than 90% of all amphipods). Amongst the
colonies on dropstones as
biogenic substrates for other
epifaunal organisms. This
megafauna community
biomass is composed of:
ascidians (63%); bryozoans
(14%); polychaetes (9%);
ophiuroids (7%) and echinoids
(2%).
Megaepifauna Ascidians, bryozoans, ophiuroids
(mostly Amphioplus spp. and
Ophiomastus serratus), occasional
echinoids
5. Deep sublittoral
muddy bottom
400–530 Central basin of Admiralty
Bay, coarse and medium
poorly sorted sandy silt, and
sandy clay silt, no dropstones,
highly stable environmental
conditions with low influence
of water currents; 96% of the
benthic community biomass
was estimated as follows:
large echiurans (42%);
actiniarians (24%);
polychaetes (17%);
nemerteans (11%).
Polychaetes Dominant species: eurytopic Tharyx
cincinnatus,Sternaspis sp., large
maldanid Asychis amphiglypta and
the large vagile Laetmonice producta
160–630 (mean:
440)
Lipski (1987),Pabis and
Sicin
´ski (2010a),
Jaz
˙dz
˙ewska (unpubl.
results), Pabis et al.
(in press)Amphipods Rather frequent: Ampelisca
dallenei, Figorella sp., Byblis
securiger
Echiura and
Actiniaria
Extremely high biomass of Echiura
and Actiniaria
J. Sicin
´ski et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 58 (2011) 30–48 39
gastropods, Laevilittorina antarctica is dominant. Extremely high
density values of macroinvertebrates have been found in this
habitat. The mean density reached 13,500 ind m
2
, but in some
plots it exceeded 50,000 ind m
2
, the mean wet weight was ca.
200 g m
2
, reaching a maximum of ca. 700 g m
2
(Jazdzewski
et al., 2001).
5.2.3. Rocky bottom
The rocky bottom of Admiralty Bay was studied especially on
Napier Rock. It is a unique rocky seafloor structure, rising from
about 100 m depth at the central basin of Admiralty Bay.
However, most observations were made by SCUBA diving down
to 30 m (Brito, unpubl. results). Its shallowest part is densely
covered by macroalgae, mainly Desmarestia spp., which is
gradually replaced with increasing depth by Himantothallus
grandifolius and Cystosphaera jacquinotii. A very rich benthic
community is observed, especially in cracks whose walls are
covered by abundant brachiopods and bivalves.
In the intertidal and subtidal down to 6 m depth, N. concinna is
frequent and abundant; it was observed also on algae down to
25 m depth. In the cracks at 3 m depth, pycnogonids and also
octocorals from the order Stolonifera are frequent. The bryozoans,
hydroids, sponges, holothurians and the octocoral Alcyonium
appear below 6 m. Several species, mainly sponges, solitary and
colonial ascidians, holothurians, nudibranchs, isopods, pycnogo-
nids, brachiopods, gastropods, polychaetes and octocorals, com-
pete for space at 15 m. There is an increase in faunal coverage
mainly represented by sponges and gorgonians from 15 m
downwards. The highest diversity is found at this depth. Below
25 m the fauna consists mainly of dense gorgonian aggregations
(Fig. 8).
5.2.4. Macroalga-associated assemblages
5.2.4.1. Phytal zone. Admiralty Bay is surrounded by a macroalgal
belt (Oliveira et al., 2009). The phytal zone covers approximately
1/3rd of the total area of the bay, and three depth-related macroalgal
subzones with characteristic species-compositions were described by
Zielin
´ski (1990) (Fig. 9). This author has estimated a total macroalgal
biomass in the bay of ca. 74,000 tons. High macroalgal biomass in-
dicates the ecological importance of these organisms as primary
producers,afoodsourceandarefugeforalargenumberof
marine organisms. Fifty-five species of macroalgae were recorded in
Admiralty Bay: 31 species of red algae, 15 species of brown algae,
8 species of green algae and 1 Chrysophyta species (Zielin
´ski, 1990;
Oliveira et al., 2009).
The bulk of the macroalgal biomass is made up by the
predominant large brown algae, such as H. grandifolius,Desmar-
estia spp. and C. jacquinotii. The richest assemblages occur mainly
at depths from 10 to 60 m. However, some brown algae
(H. grandifolius and Desmarestia anceps) have been found even at
90–100 m (Fig. 9)(Zielin
´ski, 1981, 1990). The highest biomass,
density and species diversity have been recorded in the nearshore
sublittoral of the central part of the bay, where macroalgae were
represented by 33 species, and covered 35% of the seafloor
(Zielin
´ski, 1990). Conversely, the poorest aggregations have been
found in Ezcurra Inlet, where they cover only approximately 16%
of the seafloor, being represented by 12 species (Zielin
´ski, 1981,
1990; Furman
´czyk and Zielin
´ski, 1982; Rakusa-Suszczewski and
Zielin
´ski, 1993).
5.2.4.2. Fauna of algal fronds. Morphologically distinct macroalgae
were sampled between 4 and 12 m, and their associated benthic
macro- and meiofauna were evaluated by Piera (unpublished)
and Mieldaziz and Corbisier (unpubl. results). These algae were
Desmarestia spp. (branched stem), Monostroma sp. (thin foliose
thallus), Palmaria decipiens (unbranched foliose fronds), Myrio-
gramme mangini (branched subcylindrical stem with terminal
foliose fronds) and Phaeurus antarcticus (with branches covered
with fine filaments). Density values of meiofauna found in all algal
species and sites varied from 245737 to 33,830739,820 ind
500 mL
1
(mean7SD). Copepods, generally followed by nema-
todes, were the most abundant group. Nematodes and filter-
feeding bivalves dominated on M. mangini at Napier Rock. Similar
meiofaunal assemblages were found in different sites within the
bay on Desmarestia fronds. However, densities of meiofauna were
considerably lower at Napier Rock than those at Martel Inlet,
possibly because of the conditions of high water-dynamics in the
former area.
High density values of macrofauna associated with algae
fronds ranged from 159759 to 25,669718,784 ind L
1
(mean7SD). The morphology of algae fronds was the controlling
factor for the dominance of particular macrofaunal groups. On
algae with branching fronds, such as Desmarestia spp. and
P. antarcticus, amphipods were a dominant group, whereas on
algae with foliose fronds, such as Monostroma sp., M. mangini and
P. decipiens, gastropods and spirorbid polychaetes were also
dominant (Piera, unpublished). Filter-feeding bivalves were
dominant on algae on rocks, in areas influenced by high
Fig. 4. Macrozoobenthos wet weight (g m
2
) in samples arranged according to the depth of the central part of Admiralty Bay (Pabis et al., in press).
J. Sicin
´ski et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 58 (2011) 30–4840
turbulence. Conversely, the highest concentration of suspended
matter limited the occurrence of these suspension feeders in the
inner parts of Martel Inlet.
Amphipods inhabiting algal fronds were represented by 20
species, and their composition was basically related to the algal
shape. A high dominance of the largest species G. antarctica,
followed by S. gracilis, was observed on branching forms. Foliose
algae were favoured by more delicate, highly mobile smaller
amphipod species such as Parhalimedon turqueti,Probolisca ovata
and Prothaumatelson nasutum (Piera, unpublished). Amphipod
richness and diversity were also related to local hydrodynamics.
The highest amphipod diversity occurred within the foliose algae
Fig. 5. Relative abundance of the main benthic macrofaunal groups in front of Ferraz from 1997 to 2004, compiled from Echeverria (unpublished),Bromberg (unpublished)
and Lavrado et al. (unpublished results).
J. Sicin
´ski et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 58 (2011) 30–48 41
at sites with low turbulence and on the wrinkled macroalga
M. mangini, in very turbulent areas (Piera, unpublished).
5.2.4.3. Holdfast fauna. The large brown alga H. grandifolius is one
of the most important species in terms of density and biomass in
the Admiralty Bay phytal zone (Zielin
´ski, 1981). The three-
dimensional labyrinth of its haptera forms a complex habitat,
colonized by a rich and diverse invertebrate community. Such
biogenic structures attached to dropstones reach up to 15 cm in
diameter and a volume from 100 to over 1000 mL. Holdfasts
provide a shelter from disturbance, especially in shallow water
zones (down to 40 m depth), and are functioning as small islands
on the surrounding soft bottom (Pabis and Sicin
´ski, 2010b).
The H. grandifolius holdfast fauna is dominated by epibenthic,
motile species. The most numerous groups are amphipods (35%),
polychaetes (25%) and isopods (16% of all individuals). Other less
numerous but very frequent groups are bivalves, nemerteans,
nematods and oligochaetes (Pabis et al., in press).
The group inhabiting the holdfasts that shows the highest
species richness is the polychaetes. Over 80 species have been
found in this habitat. Up to 500 polychaete individuals were found
on a single holdfast. Also, a high diversity of polychaete functional
groups was observed by Pabis and Sicin
´ski (2010b). The most
Fig. 7. Distribution of benthic megafauna in front of the Brazilian Antarctic Station (Martel Inlet) showing the depth variation and sediment characteristics (adapted from
Nonato et al., 2000).
Fig. 6. MDS diagram based on macrofaunal density data sampled in front of Ferraz
from 1997 to 2004. Data from Echeverria (unpublished),Bromberg (unpublished)
and Lavrado (unpubl. results). (A) samples taken in the summer (s) and winter (w).
(B) samples taken between 1997 and 2004.
Fig. 8. Epibenthic assemblages of Napier Rock. Five distinct layers defined by
kelps, gorgonians, erect and massive sponges/octocorals and bryozoans/brachio-
pods. Average horizontal distances (7SD) from the vertical rock wall are given
(Smith, unpublished results).
J. Sicin
´ski et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 58 (2011) 30–4842
important species were the motile herbivores, Neanthes kergue-
lensis and Brania rhopalophora, the sessile tube dwelling bamboo
worm, Rhodine intermedia, and the small sessile suspension
feeders, the sabellid Oriposis alata and spirorbid Paralaeospira
antarctica.
The amphipod holdfast fauna (25 species from 11 families) is
dominated by Ischyrocerus camptonyx,Schraderia cf. dubia,Ventojassa
georgiana,S. gracilis and P. gracilis (Jaz
˙dz
˙ewska, unpubl. results).
5.3. Nektobenthos—demersal fishes
In Admiralty Bay 30 demersal fish species have been hitherto
recorded (Skora and Neyelov, 1992; Sko
´ra, 1995). The species
richness clearly increases with depth. Quantitative data should be
treated with caution, as the general proportion for any particular
fish species from samples undertaken from various studies differs
strongly, mainly because in each of them different types of gear
were used (Skora and Neyelov, 1992; Zadro
´z
˙ny, 1996). Reliable
data from the deep sublittoral trawl catches undertaken in the
summer of 1986/87 showed the dominance of Gobionotothen
gibberifrons (Skora and Neyelov, 1992). According to these authors
the ichthyofauna of Admiralty Bay has a comparatively low fish
abundance inside the fiord in relation to the shelf surrounding
King George Island, where trawl catches gave a biomass 10 times
as high as that inside the bay. Interestingly, immature specimens
dominated the samples from the bay. Possibly, the shallowest
waters from the inner parts of the bay are used as feeding grounds
for juveniles, which at a later stage of development migrate to the
open and deeper waters for breeding.
6. Trophic relationships
The link between the organic matter sources and the shallow
water community of Martel Inlet was evaluated during the
summer of 1996/97 using the carbon isotope ratio (
d
13
C). Three
primary sources have been identified: SPM (phytoplankton and
suspended particulate matter), microphytobenthos and fragments
of macroalgae. The soft bottom community in this shallow coastal
zone had a wider range of
d
13
C values than those from oceanic
areas. Enriched values of
d
13
C are due to the carbon contribution
of the microphytobenthos and fragments of macroalgae (Corbisier
et al., 2004).
There is a bentho-pelagic coupling between the plankton
and suspension feeders—the bivalve L. elliptica, the ophiuroid
O. victoriae and the fish Chaenocephalus aceratus. Based on
d
13
C
analysis the benthic grazers (the gastropod N. concinna), deposit
feeders (the bivalve Y. eightsi) and the nematodes showed a close
relationship with microphytobenthos (Corbisier et al., 2004).
Several deposit feeders and/or omnivores (e.g., polychaetes,
amphipods, holothurians, sea urchins) seem to have a mixed diet
with fragments of macroalgae and organic matter from the
sediment, including small quantities of microphytobenthos and/or
meiobenthos. Benthic carnivores and/or scavengers, such as the
isopods F. polita and Glyptonotus antarcticus s.l., the sea star
Fig. 9. Distribution and zonation of the phytal zone of Admiralty Bay (from Zielin
´ski, 1990).
J. Sicin
´ski et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 58 (2011) 30–48 43
O. validus, the nemertean P. corrugatus and carnivorous polychaetes,
generally showed a considerable isotopic carbon ratio overlap
throughout the food chain without any clear coupling with the
primary sources of organic material. Their diet probably consists of
a wide variety of prey (Corbisier et al., 2004).
Benthic invertebrates, especially amphipods, were reported in
the stomach content of different fish species (Linkowski et al.,
1983). Some necrophagous amphipods were also found in the diet
of pygoscelid penguins of Admiralty Bay (Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski, 1981). An
interesting food link was observed by Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski and Konopacka
(1999) who reported benthic necrophagous amphipods in the diet
of Antarctic tern. This bird feeds on necrophages, scavenging
tissues of dead animals stranded on the shore. The accessibility of
such food was recently confirmed by Jaz
˙dz
˙ewska (2009) who
studied a large sample of amphipods from a fur seal carcass, found
in the vicinity of Admiralty Bay.
In Admiralty Bay, at depths from 5 to 90 m, 23 species of
clearly necrophagous habits and 10 species that are possibly
opportunistic scavengers were recognized (Table 1). Scavengers
form aggregations, which differ in species composition and
dominance structure depending on the site, depth, substrate
quality and season. In general the species richness increases with
depth. In winter the necrophagous assemblage has a very low
diversity and it is dominated by amphipods: C. femoratus (at the
depths 5–30 m), Abyssorchomene plebs and W. obesa (in deeper
water 30–90 m). In summer, H. kergueleni replaces C. femoratus in
shallow sublittoral (5–30 m); in deeper parts the same amphipod
species as in winter dominate. During the summer, in deeper
parts, below 30 m an important role is played by echinoderms
(mostly O. victoriae,O. validus and Lysasterias hemiora) and by the
isopod Glyptonotus antarcticus s.l. (Presler, 1986, 1993b).
7. Discussion and conclusions
Admiralty Bay is an area of outstanding environmental,
historical, aesthetic and scientific values, characterized by
remarkable glaciated mountain landscapes, varied geological
features, rich sea bird and mammal breeding grounds, abundant
terrestrial plant communities on the shores and highly diverse
marine habitats. The comprehensive knowledge of the physical,
chemical and biological processes, as well as the diversity of this
area, led to the designation of this basin as an Antarctic Specially
Managed Area (ASMA No. 1) by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative
Meeting XX in Utrecht in 1996 (ATCM XXVIII document, 2005).
The ASMA Management Plan was jointly prepared by the
countries with active research programmes in the area: Brazil,
Ecuador, Peru, Poland and USA. Before that designation, a Site of
Special Scientific Interest (SSSI No. 8), located on the western shore
of the bay, was established in 1979 and later designated as
Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA No. 128), mostly for
penguin biology research performed for many years by American
ornithologists. Admiralty Bay was also a reference site under the
SCAR EASIZ 1994–2004 research programme.
Several authors have provided estimates of the benthic species
richness for the Southern Ocean (e.g. Arntz et al., 1997; De Broyer
et al., 2003; Clarke and Johnston, 2003; Gutt et al., 2004;
De Broyer and Danis, 2011). The macrobenthic species richness
of Admiralty Bay comprises 20% of the over 4100 known Antarctic
species estimated by Clarke and Johnston (2003). On the other
hand, Gutt et al. (2004), relying on quantitative records from the
eastern Weddell Sea, calculated that the total number of
Antarctic macrozoobenthic species might be in the range of
11,000 to 17,000. It is very likely that species estimations
will increase significantly in the future, as new inventory tools
are becoming available worldwide, such as the RAMS database
(www.scarmarbin.be).
The remarkably long benthic species list ( 1300) provided
here for Admiralty Bay is far from being complete, and may well
reach over 2000 species. Several groups, such as Harpacticoida,
Nematoda, Cnidaria, Echinodermata, Ascidiacea, among others,
still need further detailed investigation. Based on ABBED, one
could estimate that Admiralty Bay comprises approximately 20%
of the total species richness of Ostracoda, Cumacea, Asteroidea
and Ophiuroidea and 25% of Bivalvia known from the Antarctic.
Polychaetes and amphipods are the prominent zoobenthic
groups worldwide that are well-studied in Admiralty Bay. The
richness in each of these groups exceed 30% of the Antarctic fauna,
making them model groups for biogeographical studies in the
context of global changes. A total of 161 polychaete species have
been recorded from Admiralty Bay. In comparison, Lowry (1975)
and Richardson and Hedgpeth (1977) recorded some 120
polychaete species from the soft bottoms of Anvers Island
(Palmer Archipelago). On the Elephant Island shelf (depth range
70–552 m), Hartmann-Schr¨
oder and Rosenfeldt (1990, 1991)
found 126 species. Finally, Gambi et al. (1997) published a list
of 77 polychaete species collected in the Terra Nova Bay (Ross
Sea) in the depth range from 23 to 194 m. These authors
recognized the Admiralty Bay fauna as a rather rich one when
compared with the 146 species of Polychaeta recorded to date
from the whole Ross Sea.
Similarly, a total of 172 species of benthic amphipods,
belonging to 42 families, have been recorded for Admiralty Bay.
In the neighbouring Maxwell Bay and Fildes Strait, extensively
studied by Rauschert (1991), 101 amphipod species were
recorded. Other well-studied Antarctic places are much larger
basins: the Davis Sea (100 species), the Ross Sea (126 species) and
the Weddell Sea (4200 species). In South Georgia – also known as
a very diverse region – 193 species were recorded (De Broyer et al.,
2007; d’Udekem d’Acoz, 2008, 2009; d’Udekem d’Acoz and Robert,
2008; L¨
orz et al., 2009). Lowry (1975) reported 23 amphipod
species from Arthur Harbour on Anvers Island (Palmer Archipe-
lago); however, his work concerned only the shallow sublittoral.
The most diverse algal group at Admiralty Bay are the benthic
diatoms, whose richness represents nearly 75% of the total
number of Bacillariophyceae species recorded in the Southern
Ocean, and they represent key dietary elements for both errant
grazers and deposit feeders (Ligowski, 1993).
Macroalgae from both the littoral and shallow sublittoral
zones are also fairly well known in Admiralty Bay, encompassing
50% of the Antarctic macroalgae inventory. Extensive phytal zone
in Admiralty Bay provides a complex habitat for invertebrates.
Fronds and holdfasts of various algae host a great variety of
animals. Besides Adelie Land (Arnaud, 1974) and Anvers Island
(Huang et al., 2007), Admiralty Bay is the only site in the
Antarctic, and one of the only few in the Subantarctic (Edgar,
1987; Smith and Simpson, 1998, 2002), where benthic commu-
nities associated with the complex habitat provided by macro-
algae forests were studied (Piera, unpublished; Pabis and Sicin
´ski,
2010b).
One of the possible explanations for the general high diversity
found in the Admiralty Bay benthos is probably the extreme
heterogeneity of the bottom, which is influenced by a plethora of
different factors. The shoreline of the bay is extensive and there
are numerous glacier fronts. A wide connection with Bransfield
Strait allows extensive exchange of oceanic waters with those,
more spatially confined, of Admiralty Bay. The bottom is
composed of sediments spanning all size ranges, from clay to
coarse gravel, with intermixed dropstones of various sizes and
shapes. Dropstones provide a substratum for large sessile
suspension feeders (mostly ascidian and bryozoan colonies),
J. Sicin
´ski et al. / Deep-Sea Research II 58 (2011) 30–4844
which in turn form complex habitats (biogenic structures) for
other invertebrates (Pabis et al., in prees). Moreover, bottom
depths are variable and may reach those of the Antarctic shelf,
down to 500 m. All these conditions create diverse habitats for
various benthic communities related to the gradients of depth,
salinity, bottom structure, sediment type and habitat stability.
The Southern Ocean benthic communities have rarely been
analyzed in terms of habitat structural heterogeneity and
complexity (Gray, 2001). In this context, the synthesis presented
here sets Admiralty Bay as an interesting, physically and
biologically heterogeneous area, where specifically designed
studies, which, by taking into account different spatial and
temporal scales, might provide the basis for habitat modelling,
and allow further comparisons with other Antarctic regions.
Although the Admiralty Bay habitat diversity may be the core
factor responsible for its high benthic species richness and
diversity, other factors are likely also to contribute to the
observed diversity. The history of the Last Glacial Maximum
(LGM) and ice retreat suggests that the Bransfield Strait could
have played the role of a glacial refugium for some marine
organisms and allowed shelf animals to recolonize the South
Shetland Islands region very early. Ice retreat after LGM started in
the North Antarctic Peninsula as early as in 18,000–14,000 yr BP
(Ingo
´lfsson et al., 1998; Heroy and Anderson, 2007). Anderson
et al. (2002) suggested that the Bransfield Strait area was free of
grounded ice during the LGM.
The Antarctic Peninsula is considered one of the fastest
warming regions on the Earth (Clarke et al., 2007; Turner et al.,
2009) with the temperature of western Antarctic Peninsula shelf
waters being significantly warmer than that of other Antarctic
shelves (including Bransfield Strait shelf areas) (Clarke et al.,
2009). According to some predictions climate warming can cause
significant changes in the structure of benthic communities,
including the decrease of biodiversity, even in a relatively
short period of time (Smale and Barnes, 2008). Some studies
in Admiralty Bay have already focused on ice impact upon benthic
communities (Nonato et al., 2000; Echeverria et al., 2005;
Petti et al., 2006) and on the characterization of communities in
the newly deglaciated nearshore areas (Sicin
´ski et al., 1996).
The studies on depth-related gradients as well as the research
on scales of patchiness have included disturbed areas affected by
mineral suspension inflow, such as Ezcurra Inlet (Jaz
˙dz
˙ewski
et al., 1986; Sicin
´ski, 2004; Pabis and Sicin
´ski, 2010a). All the
above mentioned studies are a suitable basis for the future
research of succession in benthic communities, as well as for the
assessment of possible further changes in the diversity, structure
and distribution of benthic communities caused by regional
climate warming.
The perceived high species richness can be partly explained by
the intensive and long lasting studies carried out in this region,
but such insight is absent from most other Antarctic marine
habitats. The continuous development of Admiralty Bay Benthos
Diversity Database (ABBED) will endow the Antarctic community
with a valuable tool for monitoring and understanding the state
and potential changes of the benthic realm in the area.
As pointed out by SCAR, Admiralty Bay is ‘‘a site of particular
interest to CAML on account of almost four decades of research
having been carried out in this basin and that this work can help
point the way towards important area which might warrant
future consideration as legacy site requiring special protection’’.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the Census of Antarctic Marine
Life (CAML) and the Antarctic Marine Biodiversity Information
Network (SCAR MarBIN). Thanks are especially due to Michael
Stoddart, Victoria Wadley and Bruno Danis for their encourage-
ment and support in data gathering; to Katrin Iken and the second
anonymous referee, as well as to Stefano Schiaparelli and Russ
Hopcroft for their detailed comments. Roger Bamber was kind
enough to correct the language of the article. We are thankful to
many taxonomists who have been involved in Polish and Brazilian
Antarctic Programmes. This work was supported by Polish
National Project of Ministry of Science and Higher Education
No. 51/N-IPY/2007/0. C. De Broyer was supported by the Scientific
Research Programme on the Antarctic of the Belgian Federal
Science Policy. Brazilian data have been provided through projects
financed by CNPq GABABENTOS (670030/1998; 680051/2000-7;
55354/2002-6), GEAMB (Process no. 55.0356/2002-9), MABIREH
(Process no. 52.0293/2006-1, International Polar Year), INCT-APA
(Process no. 574018/2008-5)], and supported by the Ministry of
Environment, Ministry of Science and Technology, and the
Secretariat for the Marine Resources Interministerial Committee
(SECIRM). This is CAML contribution #50.
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