TY - JOUR
T1 - Geographic patterns of soft-bottoms benthic communities in Chilean Patagonian fjords (47°S-54°S) - influence of environmental stress on diversity patterns and stable isotope signatures
AU - Quiroga, Eduardo
AU - Ortiz, Paula
AU - Soto, Eulogio H.
AU - Salinas, Nicole
AU - Olguín, Nicole
AU - Sands, Chester
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the National Oceanographic Committee (CONA-CHILE; Grants: N° CONA-C23F-1709 and N° C25F 19-05 ). We thank the Research Department of the PUCV (Grant No. DII-PUCV 223.730/2016) and the Research Department of the PUCV to Dra. Nicole Olguín during 2017 and 2018. We also are grateful for the financial and logistical support by COPAS Sur-Austral ANID AFB170006 and COPAS COASTAL FB210021. This piece of research is the fourth contribution from the LOBOS Team (Laboratorio de Oceanografía y Bentos of the PUCV. P. Ortiz is a candidate for the PhD in Sciences and Technologies for the Environment and the Territory, Marine Sciences, from the University of Genoa (Cycle XXXIII). This work was carried out within the framework of her doctoral research. We thank G. Daneri and P. Montero (Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia) and G. Bavestrello and F. Betti (Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra dell’Ambiente e della Vita, Università degli Studi di Genova, Italy) for their support to P. Ortiz. We are thankful to the captain (Rodrigo Mansilla) and crew of the R/V Sur-Austral (COPAS Sur-Austral, Tortel, Chile), and to Juan Ramón from the staff of Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (CIEP, Chile) for their important assistance during every occasion of fieldwork in the Martinez-Baker fjords. We also thank I. Cari, C. Andrade (UMAG), and M. Barramuño for their support in compiling the MBFs database. This manuscript is dedicated to the memory of Nelson Silva, chemical oceanographer, and pioneer of marine investigation at Chilean Patagonia.
Funding Information:
This research was funded by the National Oceanographic Committee (CONA-CHILE; Grants: N° CONA-C23F-1709 and N°C25F 19-05). We thank the Research Department of the PUCV (Grant No. DII-PUCV 223.730/2016) and the Research Department of the PUCV to Dra. Nicole Olguín during 2017 and 2018. We also are grateful for the financial and logistical support by COPAS Sur-Austral ANID AFB170006 and COPAS COASTAL FB210021. This piece of research is the fourth contribution from the LOBOS Team (Laboratorio de Oceanografía y Bentos of the PUCV. P. Ortiz is a candidate for the PhD in Sciences and Technologies for the Environment and the Territory, Marine Sciences, from the University of Genoa (Cycle XXXIII). This work was carried out within the framework of her doctoral research. We thank G. Daneri and P. Montero (Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia) and G. Bavestrello and F. Betti (Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra dell'Ambiente e della Vita, Università degli Studi di Genova, Italy) for their support to P. Ortiz. We are thankful to the captain (Rodrigo Mansilla) and crew of the R/V Sur-Austral (COPAS Sur-Austral, Tortel, Chile), and to Juan Ramón from the staff of Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (CIEP, Chile) for their important assistance during every occasion of fieldwork in the Martinez-Baker fjords. We also thank I. Cari, C. Andrade (UMAG), and M. Barramuño for their support in compiling the MBFs database. This manuscript is dedicated to the memory of Nelson Silva, chemical oceanographer, and pioneer of marine investigation at Chilean Patagonia.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2022/6
Y1 - 2022/6
N2 - The benthic community in the Chilean Patagonia is as rich and highly diverse as the spatial variation of its habitats and food sources. Environmental stress from glacier melt and river discharge are known drivers of benthic community dynamics. Here, we analyze longitudinal patterns of soft-bottom benthic communities across transects of glacier-marine environments and how these habitats may respond to changes in the environmental conditions. To assess the relationships between environmental heterogeneity (marine and glacial habitats) and benthic biodiversity, this paper reviews biological (mega- and macroinfauna) and sedimentological dataset from multiple oceanographic campaigns in Chilean Patagonian fjords. Furthermore, we analyze isotopic compositions of epibenthic and macroinfaunal organisms (δ13C/δ15N and C/N) to determine particulate organic carbon (POC) and particulate organic nitrogen (PON) availability and organismal stoichiometric budgets within each benthic community. Our results showed that glaciomarine and glaciofluvial environmental stress negatively affected nutrient reservoirs and organic matter (OM) availability, and hence produced changes in benthic diversity and trophic structure throughout the fjords. These conditions shaped the benthic community where small-bodied polychaetes and opportunistic species dominated. Additionally, we found a strong relationship between OM and nutrient availability with faunal isotopic composition, but a decoupling in C/N ratios between fauna and sediment OM, suggesting preferential organic carbon use under limited nitrogen in fjord sediments.
AB - The benthic community in the Chilean Patagonia is as rich and highly diverse as the spatial variation of its habitats and food sources. Environmental stress from glacier melt and river discharge are known drivers of benthic community dynamics. Here, we analyze longitudinal patterns of soft-bottom benthic communities across transects of glacier-marine environments and how these habitats may respond to changes in the environmental conditions. To assess the relationships between environmental heterogeneity (marine and glacial habitats) and benthic biodiversity, this paper reviews biological (mega- and macroinfauna) and sedimentological dataset from multiple oceanographic campaigns in Chilean Patagonian fjords. Furthermore, we analyze isotopic compositions of epibenthic and macroinfaunal organisms (δ13C/δ15N and C/N) to determine particulate organic carbon (POC) and particulate organic nitrogen (PON) availability and organismal stoichiometric budgets within each benthic community. Our results showed that glaciomarine and glaciofluvial environmental stress negatively affected nutrient reservoirs and organic matter (OM) availability, and hence produced changes in benthic diversity and trophic structure throughout the fjords. These conditions shaped the benthic community where small-bodied polychaetes and opportunistic species dominated. Additionally, we found a strong relationship between OM and nutrient availability with faunal isotopic composition, but a decoupling in C/N ratios between fauna and sediment OM, suggesting preferential organic carbon use under limited nitrogen in fjord sediments.
KW - C/N ratios
KW - Glaciomarine and glaciofluvial environments
KW - Organismal stable isotopes
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85129770436&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pocean.2022.102810
DO - 10.1016/j.pocean.2022.102810
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85129770436
VL - 204
JO - Progress in Oceanography
JF - Progress in Oceanography
SN - 0079-6611
M1 - 102810
ER -
