Megabenthic biodiversity in culturally and ecologically important coastal regions of Northern Labrador

Ecology and Society: a journal of integrative science for resilience and sustainability

article

Neus Campanyà-Llovet¹  Mary Denniston²  Rodd Laing²  Katrina Anthony³  Paul McCarney²  Reba McIver⁴  Jennifer Whyte⁴  Alexandra R. Vance⁴  Isabelle Jubinville⁴  Jean Hodgson⁴  Andrew J. Murphy⁵  David Cote⁵  Robert Rangeley⁴  Bárbara de Moura Neves⁵ 

[1] IICM - OKEANOS, University of the Azores;Nunatsiavut Government;Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University;Oceana Canada;Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Center

关键词: benthic biodiversity;    climate change;    ecosystem function;    fjard;    fjord;    habitat structure;    Imappivut;    Inuit;    Inuit knowledge;    Labrador;    Nunatsiavut;    polynya;    vulnerable marine ecosystems (VME);   

DOI  :  10.5751/ES-13637-270447

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Resilience Alliance Publications

【 摘 要 】

Labrador Inuit have expressed concern about the impacts of climate change on their health and well-being and theirfuture access to marine resources, including fisheries. This study filled important knowledge gaps identified by the NunatsiavutGovernment and Inuit communities regarding benthic biodiversity and habitat structure within major geomorphology features. Marinebenthic surveys were conducted in three areas of ecological, cultural, and historical significance: Hebron Fjord, Okak Fjard, and theNain archipelago, inclusive of a polynya, using a camera sled and a baited remote underwater video system. We documented the spatialextent of megabenthic diversity components and the high densities of dominant taxa, notably tube-dwelling anemones (cerianthids),brittle stars (ophiuroids), soft corals (Gersemia sp.), and bristle worms (polychaetes). Species accumulation curves indicated that newspecies records are likely to be discovered. Vulnerable marine ecosystem (VME) indicator species and other key taxa provide seafloorstructure for mobile species and important ecosystem functions, such as energy cycling, especially in the deeper areas of the fjord andfjard that are dominated by soft sediment. The sites with the highest benthic diversity, including the greatest densities of scallops andfish fauna, were in the archipelago and polynya, areas frequently used by Inuit for traditional harvesting. These findings were suggestiveof a more direct linkage between these areas and trophic levels of greatest importance to Labrador Inuit. Understanding these patternsfrom the combined perspectives of Inuit and Western science in Nunatsiavut marine waters will guide resource management andprotected area decisions, including those in the Nunatsiavut Government’s Imappivut Marine Planning Initiative.

【 授权许可】

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