Opportunistic consumption of marine pelagic, terrestrial, and chemosynthetic organic matter by macrofauna on the Arctic shelf: a stable isotope approach.

ABSTRACT: Macrofauna can contribute substantially to the organic matter cycling on the seafloor, yet the role of terrestrial and chemosynthetic organic matter in the diets of microphagous (deposit and suspension) feeders is poorly understood. In the present study, we used stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen to test the hypothesis that the terrestrial organic matter supplied with river runoff and local chemosynthetic production at methane seeps might be important organic matter sources for macrofaunal consumers on the Laptev Sea shelf. We sampled locations from three habitats with the presumed differences in organic matter supply: "Delta" with terrestrial inputs from the Lena River, "Background" on the northern part of the shelf with pelagic production as the main organic matter source, and "Seep"

SUBMITTER: Kokarev V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10315133 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature