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Observation of a living macroalga at 166 m in a high Arctic fjord

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2015

Kirstin S. Meyer Open the ORCID record for Kirstin S. Meyer [Opens in a new window]  and
Andrew K. Sweetman
Kirstin S. Meyer*
Affiliation:
Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, 63466 Boat Basin Road, Charleston, OR 97420, USA International Research Institute of Stavanger, Mekjarvik 12, 4070 Randaberg, Norway
Andrew K. Sweetman
Affiliation:
International Research Institute of Stavanger, Mekjarvik 12, 4070 Randaberg, Norway
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: K.S. Meyer, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, 63466 Boat Basin Road, Charleston, OR 97420, USA email: kimeyer@alumni.nmu.edu
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Abstract

Still photos of the seafloor in Raudfjorden, Spitsbergen, recorded in 2011, showed an abundant macroalga at a depth of 166 m. The macroalga was observed attached to stones of varying size and streaming in the bottom current, which would imply that the alga was alive and growing in situ. The alga likely experiences very low-light conditions, as it is present in a turbid fjord influenced by glacial sedimentation. Arctic macroalgae are often adapted to low-light conditions, but to the authors’ knowledge, the present report is the deepest record of living macroalgae in the high Arctic.

Keywords

Svalbardfjorddeep algaearcticimage analysis
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 8 , 2015 , e58
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2015 

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