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Ghent University - Marine Biology Section
Maarten Raes
ANT-XXIII/8, Cape Town-Punta Arenas
Antarctic
Polar Zone: Antarctic Peninsula
Begin date: 23 November 2006 – end date: 30 January 2007
- Title: ANT-XXIII/8, Cape Town-Punta Arenas
- Summary:
- Meiofauna has been studied in Antarctic marine environments,
mainly in the Atlantic part of the Southern Ocean. Nematodes
dominate such communities and show a high diversity. Their
trophic position and functional role is still not well known,
but they are assumed to play a crucial role in benthic systems.
The communities under the former Larsen A/B ice shelves are
expected to be impoverished due to a lack of in situ primary
production. The discovery of a cold seep in this area suggests
the existence of a local chemosynthetic food web. Our aims
are to study the meiobenthic communities, and more specifically
nematodes, along a transect from the former ice edge towards
the land to study colonization patterns. Another point of interest
is a global comparative investigation on meiobenthos in microhabitats
associated with cold seeps. Stable isotope analysis will allow
to study whether the meiobenthos is part of a chemosynthetic
food web.
- Scientific leader: Dr. Julian Gutt (AWI Bremerhaven)
- Vessel:
FS Polarstern
Belgian projects
Participant: Maarten Raes
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