摘要

To assess the impact of arctic climate change on environmental condition and pelagic biodiversity, spatial variations in ciliated microzooplankton communities were studied at 32 stations (western Arctic Ocean) in summer sea-ice reduction period from August 1 to September 10, 2012. Multivariate and univariate analyses demonstrated that ciliated microzooplankton community structures showed significant differences between the western and eastern parts of the sampling region; consistent with east-west differences in environmental conditions; 16 dominant species (e.g., Leegaardiella ovalis, Strombidium acutum, and Mesodinium rubrum) showed the same spatial distribution pattern and were significantly correlated with physicochemical variables, especially with nitrates and phosphates; and both spatial patterns of community structure and species diversity indices were significantly associated with environmental condition. These results suggest that the summer sea-ice reduction has affected ciliate biodiversity seriously and the pelagic ciliate communities may be useful as robust bioindicators for studying climate change effects under increasing sea-ice melting in the Arctic Ocean.

  • 出版日期2013-11
  • 单位中国极地研究中心