Torleiv Brattegard

Polychaetes as surrogates for marine biodiversity: lower taxonomic resolution and indicator groups

Due to conservation needs, reliable rapid-assessment methods for mapping of biodiversity are needed. One approach is to use surrogates, i.e. quantities that correlate strongly with the number of species, but are easier to obtain. The purpose of this paper is to test two polychaete surrogates, one for higher taxa and one for indicator groups, that will facilitate prediction of species richness in marine soft-bottom communities. Soft sediment is an important habitat which covers most of the ocean bottom. Data on polychaetes from the North Atlantic were used since polychaetes are often numerically dominant in the benthic assemblages, both with regard to the number of species and their abundance. In the polychaete assemblages along the Norwegian coast, richness at the genus, family and order level were significantly, linearly correlated to total species richness (r≥ 0.92). Polychaetes in the order Terebellida were found to be a good indicator of polychaete species richness and to a lesser extent also of whole benthic assemblages. The group Terebellida is potentially well suited as an indicator group, since it contains long-lived, large species that are easy to sort from the sediment and it is well defined taxonomically. Although promising as proxies for species richness in marine biodiversity studies, the use of lower taxonomic resolution and indicator groups requires further investigations in more local areas where there are conservation issues.

The deep-sea asellote (Isopoda, Crustacea) fauna of the Northern Seas: species composition, distributional patterns and origin

The marine asellote (Isopoda, Crustacea) fauna of the Northern Seas, i.e. the Norwegian, Greenland, Iceland and North Polar Seas, contains 106 species. Most of them occur in shallow waters, but the number of species declines rapidly with increased depth. Half the species are endemic and those occurring also outside the Northern Seas are mainly found in the North Atlantic. The endemism of species is low ( 60%) at depths > 750 m. Only a single endemic asellote genus is recorded

Distribution and diversity patterns of asellote isopods (Crustacea) in the deep Norwegian and Greenland Seas

Abstract Distribution and diversity patterns of asellote isopods (Crustacea) of the deep Norwegian and Greenland Seas are described. The asellotes show the same pattern of rapid faunal change across the upper continental slope as commonly described elsewhere. Here the rate of species replacement is maximum at depths of 800–1000m, but decreases towards greater depths. The distribution of the asellotes shows some correlations to the distribution of sediment types. Species diversity is maximum at 800m and decreases with depth. The species diversity pattern is related here to heterogeneity of the sediments and different species immigration rates into shallow and deep Arctic waters.

List of BIOFAR stations

Abstract THE BIOFAR PROGRAMME It is expected that a large number of scientific papers on marine benthic animals from Faroese waters will be published in SARSIA and elsewhere in the coming years. The authors of these articles will need to include or refer to lists of sampling stations for detailed information. A complete list, giving information on all deployments during the BIOFAR programme, published in an easily obtainable marine biological journal should be very useful to most of the authors and other scientists interested in benthic fauna of the Faroese area, and would reduce space and printing costs for editors.

The natural history of the Hardangerfjord 7. Horizontal distribution of the fauna of rocky shores

Abstract As part of a joint survey of the natural history of Hardangerfjorden, western Norway, a study of the fauna of rocky shores was made; this was carried out in the years 1955–63. In the mountains around the inner parts of the 180 km long fjord there are glaciers and numerous fields of eternal snow. Melting of snow and ice in spring and summer causes a lowering of the salinity in the surface layers of the fjord. In summer there is a gradient from euhaline conditions in the outer part to mesohaline waters in the inner parts. Detailed records of distribution and notes on ecology are given for all the species together with maps of distribution for selected species. The fauna changes in composition from the outer to the inner reaches of the fjord, and the fjord was therefore divided into four areas, an outer, an intermediate, and an inner fjord area, and the fjord branches, each characterized by the presence or absence of certain species. The features marking the change in fauna were 1) a decrease in the...

Biodiversity Trends along the Western European Margin

The seas along the western European margin encompass a vast geographical area comprising numerous different habitats, and are home to more than 10,000 metazoan species. Although research in this extensive region has been undertaken since the early 1800s, many new species are being described and distributional patterns identified. Recent studies incorporating the most extensive data series ever used in such European studies have failed to find any relationship between latitude and infaunal shelf biodiversity. Along the European shelf, species richness generally increases to a depth of 200 m and then decreases from 300–500 m. In the deep Northeast Atlantic, a unimodal curve illustrates how macrofaunal species diversity changes with depth whilst the megafauna appear to have a bimodal distribution. Regional studies are equivocal in that poleward increases in species diversity have been observed in some studies or taxa, but not in others. In the North Sea, arguably the best studied system in European waters, there appears to be a distinct increase in diversity with increasing latitude. Since this trend is confounded by similar latitudinal gradients in depth and trawling intensity, there is no clear explanation for the biodiversity pattern. Climatic shifts in diversity patterns and species ranges have recently been observed. Here we report previously unpublished data on changes in species richness that have been observed along the Norwegian coast over the past two decades, with the most northerly region seeing more than a 15% increase in the number of species being discovered there. This review synthesizes published and new biodiversity data across multiple spatial and temporal scales, and from the coast to the deep-sea, to provide an overview of what is known along the western European margin. Threats to the biodiversity of the region are highlighted, as well as identifying where there are still gaps in our knowledge.

10. Mysidacea from shallow water in the Bahamas and Southern Florida. Part 1

Abstract The following new taxa are described and figured: Amathimysis gibba gen. et sp. nov. of the tribe Erythropini; Mysidopsis mathewsoni sp. nov., M. eclipes sp. nov., M. brattstroemi sp. nov., M. robustispina sp. nov., Dioptromysis spinosa sp. nov., D. paucispinosa sp. nov. of the tribe Leptomysini; Parvimysis bahamensis gen. et sp. nov. of uncertain systematic position within the sub-family Mysinae; and Heteromysis nouveli sp. nov. and H. floridensis sp. nov. of the tribe Heteromysini. The following species: Mysidopsis mortenseni W. M. Tattersall, M. furca Bowman, M. almyra Bowman, M. bigelowi W. M. Tattersall, Brasilomysis castroi Băcescu, Mysidium gracile (Dana), M. integrum W. M. Tattersall, M. columbiae (Zimmer), Taphromysis bowmani Băcescu, Heteromysis formosa S. I. Smith and H. actiniae Clarke are recorded, and easily observed characters that can be used for their identification are described and figured. Keys for the identification of the known species of Dioptromysis and Mysidium are given,...

Further experiments on the value of dissolved organic matter as food for Siboglinum fiordicum (Pogonophora)

Adult and larval stages of Siboglinum fiordicum, collected from 32 to 35 m depth, accumulate measurable quantities of amino acids and glucose from low concentrations. The amino acids are absorbed against a considerable gradient. The glucose and the amino acids are metabolized in the tissues and substantial amounts are respired to give carbon dioxide or volatile organic acids. Under the experimental conditions almost all the metabolism follows aerobic pathways.

Why Biologists are Interested in Fjords

All kinds of biologists who use marine organisms in their research can find objects for their studies in a fjord. In the context of fjord oceanography a fjord should be regarded as a biological entity, the domain of ecologists who study the interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms.

Additional Mysidacea from shallow water on the Caribbean coast of Colombia

Abstract Mysids were collected on the coast of Departamento del Magdalena, Colombia, in May-July 1973 with a light detritus sledge, by diving and using a small hand net, or by washing corah etc. The following new species are described and figured: Amathimysis cherados, A. polita, Mysidopsis bispinulata, M. robusta, M. virgulala, Heteromysis elegans, and Heteromysis sp. A. A revised diagnosis of Amathimysis Brattegard, 1969 is given. Bowmaniella cf. dissimilis (Coifmann), and B. sewelli Brattegard, are recorded for the first time from the area. Supplementary information on ecology and biology is given for the following species: Siriella chierchiae Coifmann, Anchialina typica typica (Kroyer), Erythrops parva Brattegard, Amathimysis gibba Brattegard, Brasilomysis castroi Băcescu, Cubanomysis jimenezi Băcescu, Metamysidopsis swifti Băcescu, Mysidopsis ankeli Brattegard, M. cultrata Brattegard, M. cf. mortenseni W.M. Tattersall, M. taironana Brattegard, M. tortonesei Băcescu, M. velifera Brattegard, Promysis a...