Macroinfaunal Community Composition and Biomass, and Bacterial and Viral Abundances From the Gulf of Alaska To the Canadian Archipelago: A Biodiversity Study

Hydrographic, sediment, and biological (chlorophyll a, bacteria, viruses, and macroinfauna) samples were collected on a several thousand mile long transect spanning from the Gulf of Alaska, through the Bering and Chukchi Seas, the Beaufort Sea, and into the Canadian Archipelago/Northwest Passage in the summer of 2000.

Water column hydrographic parameters (temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll a), water column bacterial and viral abundances and distributions, as well as benthic measurements of sediment bacterial and viral abundances and distribution, sediment grain size, and sediment organic carbon and organic nitrogen content were measured. In addition, macroinfaunal community composition and diversity were examined.

The Bering and Chukchi Seas had the highest overall mean abundances of bacterial, viral, and macroinfaunal parameters. Of all areas measured, the Beaufort Sea and Gulf of Alaska stations exhibited the lowest values, and Canadian Archipelago stations showed intermediate, varied values. Statistical analysis indicated significant positive correlations among many parameters. For example, the significant relationship between macroinfaunal diversity and sediment viral abundance suggests that Arctic benthic macroinfaunal communities may be influenced by viral parameters coincident with sediment grain size and the quantity and quality of surface-water derived primary production food supply.