Chemosynthesis influences food web and community structure in high-Arctic benthos

Cold seeps are locations where seafloor communities are influenced by the seepage of methane and other reduced compounds from the seabed. We examined macro-infaunal benthos through community analysis and trophic structure using stable isotope analysis at 3 seep locations in the Barents Sea. These seeps were characterized by high densities of the chemosymbiotic polychaetes Siboglinidae, clade Frenulata (up to 32120 ind. m-2), and thyasirid bivalves,

Keywords:

• Benthos
• Arctic
• Ecology
• Chemosynthesis
• Fishery
• Community structure
• Biology
• Food web
• Isotope analysis
• Cold seep
• Trophic level
• Habitat
• Siboglinidae

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