Pelagic-benthic coupling on the shelf of the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas. II. Benthic community structure

Abstract

Benthic fauna abundance, biomass and diversity were investigated in the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas to determine factors influencing faunal distribution in this polar region. The hypothesis tested whether s e b m e n t grain size and water mass charactenstics, such as organic carbon supply to the benthos and temperature, are regulating factors in benthic community structure. Benthic communities under the cold, highly productive (-250 to 300 g C m-2 yr-') Bering Shelf-Anadyr Water (BSAW) are dominated by a high biomass of amphipods (F. Ampeliscidae and F. Isaeidae) and bivalves (F. Nuculidae and F. T e l l ~n ~d a e ) .