Comparative account of benthic community at two different locations in the continental Antarctica

Abstract

Data on faunal communities, abundance and biomass were collected from seven stations in the Queen Maud Land shelf, Lazarev Sea, East Antarctica and three stations in Atca Ice Port, Weddell Sea, West Antarctica. The sampling depth ranged from 70 to 1000 metres. Sampling was conducted during the austral summer (January-March 1993). Twenty-five major taxa were identified. Sponges (Hexactinellid), polychaetes and echinoderms were most abundant at both the sites. Faunal density ranged between 30 and 146 (x bar: 64.86 plus or minus 38.72 SE, n = 14) and 128 to 170 (x bar: 148.00 plus or minus 15.68 SE, n = 06), respectively, at East and West Antarctic stations. Mean biomass (wet weight) of 3057.65 plus or minus 209.70 and 4467.09 plus or minus 750.69 mg /0.017 m super(2) were recorded at Queen Maud Land and at Atca Ice Port, respectively. The most common epifaunal species were particle feeding sponges, bryozoans, crinoids, and hydroids