Abstract
—During 79th cruise of R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh twelve trawl hauls were collected in Powell Basin and adjacent area at depths 370–3771 m. The structure of the benthic assemblages was highly variable when considered at the macrotaxon level. The main factors shaping the taxonomical structure of the sampled assemblages were depth, near-bottom current velocities and proportion of the hard fraction of the sediment. Hard substrate assemblages of the Antarctic peninsula slope and Philip Ridge with high percentage of filter-feeders (mainly sponges) were associated with the highest values of the near-bottom tide currents (up to 55.6 cm/s). In several trawl hauls indicator species of vulnerable marine ecosystems—mainly Demospongiae sponges, deep-sea corals Stylasteridae (Hydrozoa) and Primnoidae (Octocorallia)—were collected.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors express their gratitude to the Captain and the crew of 79th cruise of the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh for their highly professional work. Special thanks go to I.O. Bukin and A.M. Koltunov (NSCMB FEB RAS) for invaluable support during deck work; A.K. Zalota, A.B. Basin, N.V. Gordeeva, and S.G. Kobyliansky (IO RAS) and P.A. Kireev, A. E. Vlasenko, and G.V. Malykin (NSCMB FEB RAS) for help in the collection and primary processing of material; and to A.A. Polukhin (IO RAS) for providing hydrochemical data.
Funding
The study was carried out under the Minobrnauki of the Russian Federation State Assignment nos. 0128-2019-0008 (IO RAS) and 0208-2019-0013 (NSCMB FEB RAS).
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Translated by D. Martynova
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Galkin, S.V., Minin, K.V., Udalov, A.A. et al. Benthic Assemblages of the Powell Basin. Oceanology 61, 204–219 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437021020053
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437021020053