Onderzoeksoutput

Welkom op het expertplatform!

Dit platform verschaft informatie en kennis omtrent de WL expertisedomeinen 'hydraulica en sediment', 'havens en waterwegen', 'waterbouwkundige constructies', 'waterbeheer' en 'kustbescherming' - gaande van WL medewerkers met hun expertise, het curriculum van deze instelling, tot publicaties, projecten, data (op termijn) en evenementen waarin het WL betrokken is.

Het WL onderschrijft het belang van "open access" voor de ontsluiting van haar onderzoeksresultaten. Lees er meer over in ons openaccessbeleid.

log in

• 
  People
• 
  Curriculum
• 
  Projects
• 
  Data sets
• 
  Publications
• 
  Events

[ meld een fout in dit record ]

mandje (0): toevoegen | toon

---

Deep-sea habitat heterogeneity influence on meiofaunal communities in the Gulf of Guinea Van Gaever, S.; Galeron, J.; Sibuet, M.; Vanreusel, A. (2009). Deep-sea habitat heterogeneity influence on meiofaunal communities in the Gulf of Guinea. Deep-Sea Res., Part 2, Top. Stud. Oceanogr. 56(23): 2259-2269. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2009.04.008 In: Deep-Sea Research, Part II. Topical Studies in Oceanography. Pergamon: Oxford. ISSN 0967-0645; e-ISSN 1879-0100

---

Beschikbaar in	Auteurs
VLIZ: Open Marine Archive 218251 [ download pdf ]

---

Trefwoorden

Deep sea Meiofauna Seeps Nematoda [WoRMS] AS, Equatorial Atlantic [Marine Regions]; ASE, Guinea Gulf [Marine Regions] Marien/Kust

Author keywords

West equatorial Africa margin deep-sea; Congo canyon; Cold seep; Meiofauna; Nematodes; Gulf of Guinea

---

Auteurs		Top
Van Gaever, S. Galeron, J. Sibuet, M. Vanreusel, A.

---

Abstract

To estimate the degree of spatial heterogeneity of benthic deep-sea communities, we carried out a multiple-scale (from m's to 200 km) investigation in the Congo-Angola margins (Equatorial West African margin, 3150–4800 m) in which we examined the metazoan meiofauna at a variety of habitats along the Congo Channel system and in the associated cold seep. We investigate the structure, density, vertical distribution patterns in the sediment and biomass of meiofaunal communities in the Gulf of Guinea and how they are controlled by hydrologic and biogeochemical processes. The meiofaunal communities in the Gulf of Guinea were shaped by heterogeneous conditions on the margin, and reflect the multiple-scale spatial variability that corresponds with the different identified habitats. The two control sites, located at >100 km away from the canyon, were inhabited by very dense and the most diverse meiobenthic communities. Similar meiobenthic communities inhabited the transition zone between the canyon and the cold seep. Sites located along the Congo Channel were obviously affected by the local high-velocity bottom currents and unstable sedimentary conditions in this active submarine system. Extremely low meiobenthic densities and very low proportions in the most surficial sediment layers provided evidence for recently highly disturbed sediments at these sites. The remote operated vehicle (ROV) Victor 6000 provided images of the cold seep, showing a patchy distribution of several types of patchy distributed megafaunal communities dominated by three key symbiotic taxa (Mytilidae, Vesicomyidae and Siboglinidae). These cold seep sediments were colonised by a unique meiobenthic community, characterised by a high small-scale (m's) patchiness, low species richness and the prominent dominance of two large-sized nematode species: Sabatieria mortenseni, which is a cosmopolitan nematode known from littoral habitats, and an undescribed Desmodora species. The high individual body weight of S. mortenseni and its dominance at the cold seep site resulted in a significantly higher nematode biomass at the seep compared to the surrounding sites. In addition, the vertical nematode profiles, with maximum proportions in subsurficial layers, points to a chemosynthesis-based meiobenthic community in this cold seep, in contrast to the phytodetritus-based communities at the control sites and at the transition zone.

---

Alle informatie in het Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) valt onder het VLIZ Privacy beleid

Top | Auteurs

IMIS is ontwikkeld en wordt gehost door het VLIZ.