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Patterns in the distribution and abundance of sea anemones off Dumont d’Urville Station, Antarctica

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Abstract

Knowledge of ecological interactions is integral for informed management, especially in the rapidly changing Antarctic marine ecosystem. Nonetheless, even basic ecological relationships are unknown for most benthic species, including conspicuous predatory species such as sea anemones. The aim of this study is to understand the ecology of sea anemones in the Terre Adélie region. Using video footage collected by remote operated vehicle (ROV), we examined sea anemone distribution and abundance in relation to predator and prey abundance, presence of other taxa and habitat structure. The ROV was deployed over ten different transects with depths ranging from 32 to 251 m. A total of 332 sea anemones were observed across 6.6 km2 of seabed surveyed. We compared sea anemone abundance with habitat type and substrate attachment. Multivariate analysis in PRIMER was used to examine community composition. Sea anemone density was not significantly associated with habitat types. However, sea anemones were associated with the biogenic substrates, ascidians and bryozoans. This association suggests a potential future vulnerability for Antarctic sea anemones if bryozoan and ascidian distributions are impacted by climate change-associated ecosystem disturbances.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the research programme led by Guillaume Lecointre, REVOLTA 1124 (2009-2013) supported by the French polar institute “Institut Paul-Émile Victor” (IPEV) and the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN). We would also like to thank the Département du Finistére for providing the ROV and to Océanopolis for the camera. We thank also the ROV pilot Alain Pottier.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia

    Leslie A. Watson, Erik Wapstra & Karen Miller

  2. Australian Antarctic Division, 203 Channel Hwy, Kingston, TAS, 7050, Australia

    Jonathan S. Stark & Glenn J. Johnstone

  3. Australian Institute of Marine Science, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Karen Miller

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  1. Leslie A. Watson
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Correspondence to Leslie A. Watson.

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Watson, L.A., Stark, J.S., Johnstone, G.J. et al. Patterns in the distribution and abundance of sea anemones off Dumont d’Urville Station, Antarctica. Polar Biol 41, 1923–1935 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2332-3

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