Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Metazoan meiobenthos and nematode assemblages in the Nyegga Region of methane seepage (Norwegian Sea)

  • Biology of Communities
  • Published:
Russian Journal of Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Based on visual observations in the Nyegga (Norwegian Sea) methane seep area we defined arbitrary boundaries and defined the following types of microbiotopes: the siboglinid field, bacterial mat, and background sediment. The metazoan meiobenthos consisted of 14 major taxa; the Nematoda dominated at seven of the eight stations. The taxonomic diversity of metazoan meiobenthos in the siboglinid fields was higher than that in the background bottom area. The average population density in siboglinid microbiotope exceeded the abundance of organisms in the background sediments by 1.3 times. The nematode population and total meiobenthos varied in bacterial maths. The modal size fraction of meiobenthos and nematodes regardless of microbiotopes fell on samples that were obtained on sieves with 63–125 μm mesh sizes. In total, 88 nematod species belonging to 26 families and 63 genera were recorded. The species diversity decreased in the direction from the background biotope to siboglinid fields and further to bacterial mats.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Galimov, E.M. and Kodina, L.A., Issledovanie organicheskogo veschestva i gazov v osadochnykh tolschakh dna Mirovogo okeana (The Study of Organic Matter and Gases in Sedimentary Strata of the Ocean Floor), Moscow: Nauka, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Gal’tsova, V.V. and Platonova, T.A., Distribution of meiofauna of silty-sandy beach of Dal’nezelenetsky bay, Barents Sea, Biol. Morya, (Moscow), 1980, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 15–20.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Lein, A.Yu., Authigenic carbonate formation in the ocean, Litol. Polezn. Iskop., 2004, no. 1, pp. 3–35.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Mokievsky, V.O., Ekologiya morskogo meiobentosa (Ecology of Marine Meiobenthos), Moscow: KMK, 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Mokievsky, V.O. and Kamenskaya, O.E., Meiobenthos of hydrothermal areas and other reducing habitats, in Biologiya gidrotermal’nykh system (Biology of Hydrothermal Systems), Moscow: Mir, 2002, pp. 237–253.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Soloviev, V.A., Global assessment of the amount of gas in submarine clusters of gas hydrates, Geol. Geofiz., 2002, vol. 43, no. 7, pp. 609–624.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Chesunov, A.V., Biologiya morskikh nematod (Biology of Marine Nematodes), Moscow: KMK, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Andrássy, I., Halomonhystera, a new genus distinct from Geomonhystera Andrássy, 1981 (Nematoda: Monhysteridae), Meiofauna Mar., 2006, vol. 14, pp. 11–24.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Bernhard, J.M., Buck, K., Farmer, M.A., and Bowser, S.S., The Santa Barbara Basin is a symbiosis oasis, Nature, 2000, vol. 403, pp. 7–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Bryn, P., Berg, K., Forsberg, C.F., et al., Explaining the Storegga Slide, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 2005, vol. 22, pp. 11–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Buck, K.R. and Barry, J.P., Monterey Bay cold seep infauna: quantitative comparison of bacterial mat meiofauna with non-seep control sites, Cah. Biol. Mar., 1998, vol. 39, pp. 333–335.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Bugge, T., Submarine slides on the Norwegian continental margin, with special emphasis on the Storegga area, Continental Shelf Institute Publication, 1983, vol. 110, p. 152.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Bunz, S., Mienert, J., and Berndt, C., Geological controls on the Storegga gas-hydrate system of the mid-Norwegian continental margin, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 2003, vol. 209, pp. 291–307.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Cordes, E.E., Bergquist, D.C., Shea, K., and Fisher, C.R., Hydrogen sulphide demand of long-lived vestimentiferan tubeworm aggregations modifies the chemical environment at deep-sea hydrocarbon seeps, Ecol. Lett., 2003, vol. 6, pp. 212–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. De Beer, D., Sauter, E., Niemann, H., et al., In situ fluxes and zonation of microbial activity in surface sediments of the Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano, Limnol. Oceanogr., 2006, vol. 51, pp. 1315–1331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Derycke, S., Backeljau, T., Vlaeminck, C., et al., Spatiotemporal analysis of population genetic structure in Geomonhystera disjuncta (Nematoda, Monhysteridae) reveals high levels of molecular diversity, Mar. Biol., 2007, vol. 151, pp. 1799–1812.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Dinet, A., A quantitative survey of meiobenthos in the deep Norwegian Sea, in The Deep Sea: Ecology and Exploitation: First Symposium. Saltsjöbaden, Sweden, August 9–13, 1977, 1979, vol. 6, pp. 75–77.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Fonseca, G., Derycke, S., and Moens, T., Integrative taxonomy in two free-living nematode species complexes, Biol. J. Linn. Soc., 2008, vol. 94, pp. 737–753.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Haflidason, H., Hjelstuen, B.O., Monsen, S., et al., Marine Geological Cruise Report from the Voring Plateau (Report No. 100-03/08), Norway: Dep. Earth Sci., Univ. of Bergen, 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Haflidason, H., Steen, I.H., Hjelstuen, B.O., et al., The extreme environment of active gas hydrate bearing pockmarks at Nyegga: a multidisciplinary geological, biological and geochemical study on the Mid-Norwegian margin, in European Geosciences Union General Assembly, 2009, Vienne, Austria, 2009, p. 35.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Hammer, Ø., Harper, D.A.T, and Ryan, P.D., PAST paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis, Palaeontol. Electron., 2001, vol. 4, pp. 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Hjelstuen, B.O., Haflidason, H., Sejrup, H.P., and Nygård, A., Sedimentary and structural control on pockmark development-evidence from the Nyegga pockmark field, NW European margin, Geo-Mar. Lett., 2009, vol. 30, pp. 221–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Hovland, M., Gas-induced erosion features in the North Sea, Earth Surf. Proc. Landforms, 1984, vol. 1, pp. 209–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Hovland, M., Discovery of possible gas hydrate features offshore Norway, in The National Energy Technology Laboratory Methane Hydrate Newsletter. US Dept. of Energy, 2005, pp. 5–7.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Hovland, M., Hydrate pingoes at Nyegga: some characteristic features, Geophys. Res. Abstrs., 2009, vol. 11, p. 1782.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Hovland, M. and Svensen, H., Submarine pingoes: indicators of shallow gas hydrates in a pockmark at Nyegga, Norwegian Sea, Mar. Geol., 2006, vol. 228, pp. 15–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Ivanov, M., Westbrook, G.K., Blinova, V., et al., First sampling of gas hydrate from the Voring Plateau, EOS, 2007, vol. 88, pp. 209–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Jensen, P., Nematode assemblages in the Deep-sea benthos of the Norwegian Sea, Deep-Sea Res., 1988, vol. 35, pp. 1173–1184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Jensen, P., Aagaard, I., Burke, R.A., et al., Bubbling reefs on the Katteegat: submarine landscapes of carbonate-cemented rocks support a diverse ecosystem at methane seeps, Mar. Ecol.: Progr. Ser., 1992, vol. 83, pp. 103–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Krylova, E.M., Gebruk, A.V., Portnova, D.A., et al., New species of the genus Isorropodon (Bivalvia: Vesicomyidae: Pliocardiinae) from cold methane seeps at Nyegga (Norwegian Sea, Voring Plateau, Storrega Slide), J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K., 2011, vol. 91, no. 5, pp. 1135–1144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Levin, L.A., Ecology of cold seep sediments: interactions of fauna with flow, chemistry and microbes, Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Annu. Rev., 2005, vol. 43, pp. 1–46.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Levin, L.A., Ziebis, W., Mendoza, G., et al., Spatial heterogeneity of macrofauna at northern California methane seeps: the influence of sulfide concentration and fluid flow, Mar. Ecol: Progr. Ser., 2003, vol. 265, pp. 123–139.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Magalhães, V.H., Authigenic carbonates and fluid escape structures in the gulf of Cadiz, PhD Thesis, Universidade de Aveiro, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Matveeva, T.V., Mazurenko, L.L., Soloviev, V.A., et al., Gas hydrate accumulation in the subsurface sediments of Lake Baikal (Eastern Siberia), Geo-Mar. Lett., 2003, vol. 23, pp. 289–299.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Mitsch, W.J. and Jörgensen, S.E., Ecological Engineering: an Introduction to Ecotechnology, New York: Wiley, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Mokievsky, V.O., Filippova, K.A., and Tchesunov A.V., Nematode fauna associated with detached Kelp accumulations in the subtidal zone of the White Sea, Oceanology, 2005, vol. 45, no. 5, pp. 689–697.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Montagna, P.A. and Spies, R.B., Meiofauna and chlorophyll associated with Beggiatoa Mats of A Natural Submarine petroleum seep, Mar. Environ. Res., 1985, vol. 15, pp. 231–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Nikolaus, R., Ammerman, J.W., and MacDonald, I.R., Distinct pigmentation and trophic modes in Beggiatoa from hydrocarbon seeps in the Gulf of Mexico, Mar. Ecol.: Progr. Ser., 2003, vol. 32, pp. 85–93.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Olu, K., Lance, S., and Sibuet, M., Cold seep communities as indicators of fluid expulsion patterns through mud volcanoes seaward of the Barbados accretionary prism, Deep-Sea Res., 1997, vol. 44, pp. 811–841.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Pfannkuche, O. and Thiel, H., Sample processing, in Introduction to the Study of Meiofauna, Washington DC: Smithson. Inst. Press, 1988, pp. 134–145.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Pielou, E.C., The measurement of diversity in different types of biological collections, J. Theor. Biol., 1966, vol. 13, pp. 131–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Pimenov, N., Savvichev, A., Rusanov, I., et al., Microbiological processes of the carbon and sulfur cycles at cold methane seeps of the North Atlantic, Microbiology (Moscow), 2000, vol. 69, pp. 709–720.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Portnova, D., Haflidason, H., and Todt, C., Meiofauna and nematode communities associated with pockmarks of Nyegga, NW European margin, HERMIONE First Annual Meeting, April, 12–16, 2010, Malta, 2010, p. 106.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Powell, E.N., and Bright, T.J., A thiobios does existgnathostomulid domination of the canyon community at the East Flower Garden Brine Seep, Int. Rev. Ges. Hydrobiol., 1981, vol. 66, pp. 675–683.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Primer-E Ltd., Primer for Windows Version 5.2.4., Plymouth, UK, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Robinson, C.A., Bernhard, J.M., Levin, L.A., and Mendoza, G.F., Meiofauna and macrofauna of near surface hydrocarbon seep habitats: Blake Ridge Diapir (Atlantic Ocean) and Alaminos Canyon (Gulf of Mexico), Pubbl. Staz. Zool. Napoli. I: Mar. Ecol., 2004, vol. 25, pp. 313–336.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Sahling, H., Rickert, D., Lee, R.W., et al., Macrofaunal community structure and sulfide flux at gas hydrate deposits from the Cascadia convergent margin, NE Pacific, Mar. Ecol: Progr. Ser., 2002, vol. 231, pp. 121–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Seinhorst, J.W., A rapid method for the transfer of nematodes from fixative to anhydrous glycerine, Nematologica, 1959, vol. 4, pp. 67–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Shirayama, Y., Studies of meiofauna collected from the lheya Ridge during the dive 541 of the SHINKAI 2000, Deep-Sea Res., 1992, vol. 8, pp. 287–291.

    Google Scholar 

  50. Shirayama, Y. and Ohta, S., Meiofauna in a cold-seep community off Hatsushima, central Japan, J. Oceanogr. Soc. Jpn., 1990, vol. 46, pp. 118–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Soltwedel, T., Metazoan meiobenthos along continental margins: a review, Prog. Oceanogr., 2000, vol. 46, pp. 59–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Soltwedel, T., Portnova, D., Kolar, I., et al., The smallsized benthic biota of the Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano (SW Barents Sea slope), J. Mar. Syst., 2005, vol. 55, pp. 271–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Sommer, S., Linke, P., Pfannkuche, O., et al., Seabed methane emissions and the habitat of frenulate tubeworms on the Captain Arutyunov mud volcano (Gulf of Cadiz), Mar. Ecol.: Progr. Ser., 2009, vol. 382, pp. 69–86.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. Southward, A.J. and Dando, P.R., Distribution of Pogonophora in canyons in the Bay of Biscay: factors controlling abundance and depth range, J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K., 1988, vol. 68, pp. 627–638.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Thiel, H., The size structure of the deep-sea benthos, Int. Rev. Hydrobiol., 1975, vol. 60, pp. 575–606.

    Google Scholar 

  56. Thiermann, F., Akoumianaki, I., Hughes, J.A., and Giere, O., Benthic fauna of a shallow-water gaseohydrothermal vent area in the Aegean Sea (Milos, Greece), Mar. Biol., 1997, vol. 128, pp. 149–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Turnipseed, M., Knick, K.E,, Lipcius, R.N., et al., Diversity in mussel beds at deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, Ecol. Lett., 2003, vol. 6, pp. 518–523.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Ussler III, W., Paull, CK, Boucher, J., et al., Submarine pockmarks: a case study from Belfast Bay, Maine, Mar. Geol., 2003, vol. 202, pp. 175–192.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Van Gaever, S., Moodley, L., de Beer, D., and Vanreusel, A., Meiobenthos at the Arctic Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano, with a parental-caring nematode thriving in sulphide-rich sediments, Mar. Ecol.: Progr. Ser., 2006, vol. 321, pp. 143–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Van Gaever, S., Olu, K., Derycke, S., and Vanreusel, A., Metazoan meiofaunal communities at cold seeps along the Norwegian margin: influence of habitat heterogeneity and evidence for connection with shallow-water habitats, Deep-Sea Res., 2009, vol. 56, pp. 772–785.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. Nakhimovskiy 36, Moscow, 117997, Russia

    D. A. Portnova & V. O. Mokievsky

  2. Department of Earth Science, Marine Geology, and Geophysics, University of Bergen, Bergen, 5020, Norway

    H. Haflidason

  3. Museum of the University of Bergen, Bergen, 7800, Norway

    K. Todt

Authors
  1. D. A. Portnova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. V. O. Mokievsky
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. H. Haflidason
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. K. Todt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. A. Portnova.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © D.A. Portnova, V.O. Mokievsky, H. Haflidason, K. Todt, 2014, published in Biologiya Morya.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Portnova, D.A., Mokievsky, V.O., Haflidason, H. et al. Metazoan meiobenthos and nematode assemblages in the Nyegga Region of methane seepage (Norwegian Sea). Russ J Mar Biol 40, 255–265 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063074014040075

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063074014040075

Keywords

Search

Navigation