Portlandia -dominated Communities in the Arctic: Taxonomic Composition and Structure along the Geographical Gradient
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NOLOGY
Portlandia-dominated Communities in the Arctic: Taxonomic Composition and Structure along the Geographical Gradient V. O. Mokievskya,*, A. A. Udalova, A. I. Chavaa, U. V. Simakovaa, V. N. Kokarevb, and T. V. Neretinac Presented by Academician M.V. Flint May 25, 2020 Received May 25, 2020; revised June 1, 2020; accepted June 2, 2020
Abstract—The species composition and structure of bottom communities with a predominance of bivalve mollusks of the Portlandia genus, which are widespread on the shelf of the Russian Arctic, were analyzed. Molecular genetic analysis confirmed that Portlandia aestuariorum and P. arctica are valid species; it has been shown that all P. arctica from different regions belong to the same species regardless their morphological variations. Ten different variants of benthic communities from the White, Kara, Laptev, and East Siberian seas were described, in which P. aestuariorum and P. arctica play the dominant role. No associated species complexes have been identified for Portlandia spp. Communities practically do not have common species, and their composition and structure are determined by the selection of species with similar ecological preferences from the local fauna. The differences in communities are determined by both geographical and environmental factors. Keywords: benthos, Arctic, communities, Portlandia DOI: 10.1134/S1028334X20080140
The combination of descriptions (stations) by the dominant species [1] is one of the widespread and traditional approaches to distinguishing communities of organisms. All descriptions with the same dominant are considered to belong to the same community. In the case of species with a wide distribution, this approach may lead to the unification of associations of species that are different in species composition and origin. At the same time, analysis of the composition and structure of communities with the same dominant serves as a good object for studying the problem of the contiguity of species in the bottom communities and assessing the role of interspecific interactions in the organization of the benthos. The prevailing species by biomass can act as an ecosystem engineers transforming the habitat for related species, but this does not always happen and certainly not in all communities. The question of the a Shirshov
Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 117218 Russia b Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University, 8049 Bodø, Norway c Pertzov White Sea Biological Station, Department of Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991 Russia *e-mail: [email protected]
degree of contiguity of species and the regulatory role of the dominant species is poorly studied for infaunal communities [2]. The study of geographically distant communities with the same dominant allows us to evaluate its role as an edificator and to identify a set of associated species, if any such species exist. Communities dominated by the bivalve mollusk Portlandia arctica can serve as a good object for quantifying geographical differences i
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