Arctic Sea Ice Faunal Assemblage: First Approach to Description and Source of the Underice Meiofauna

Abstract

The ice meiofaunal assemblage in shallow Stefansson Sound off the northern coast of Alaska [USA] included Polychaeta, Nematoda, Rotifera and Crustacea. The crustaceans comprised of calanoid copepods, nauplii, 2 spp. of harpacticoids (Halectinosoma neglectum and Pseudobradya sp.) shared with the benthos and a cyclopoid copepod (Cyclopina gracilis), probably a benthic epiphytic form. Much of the ice meiofaunal assemblage was dominated by larvae and juveniles. The ice taxa were sparse in numbers (100-1000 times less than the sediments) and depauperate in species (e.g., 2 spp. of harpacticoids vs. 28 in the sediments). The ice meiofauna appears to be derived from both sediments and water column. During spring, the undersurface of nearshore sea ice may act as a substrate for benthic recuritment and for nourishment of a highly selected fauna. The meiofauna is too sparse to be significant in the food web or energy budget in the protected nearshore Beaufort Sea.