This is the first study to present the patterns and environmental controls of benthic biomass size spectra, carbon demand, and production along the entire bathymetric gradient from the shelf to the abyssal depths in the Arctic Ocean. The materials were collected at 17 stations (76 - 5561 m) in the eastern Fram Strait, in the Atlantic passage to the Arctic Ocean, in the vicinity of the productive Marginal Ice Zone, with concentrations of sediment-bound chloroplastic pigments (indicating food availability from phytodetritus sedimentation) higher than in other deep-sea localities at similar depths. Meiobenthic and macrobenthic individuals were measured using image analysis to assess their biovolume, biomass, annual production, and carbon demand. Benthic biomass in the area was clearly higher than that in the High Arctic locations and comparable to that in the lower-latitude North Atlantic. Biomass and annual production were significantly negatively correlated with water depth, with stronger bathymetric clines in macrofauna than in meiofauna and the increasing dominance of meiofauna with increasing depth. A bimodal shape in the size spectra was observed only at the shallow stations, while at depths below 2000 m, an additional trough was present in the macrofaunal part of the spectrum. The entire range of the spectra (i.e., the number of size classes) decreased with increasing depth, especially in the macrofaunal part of the spectrum. Similar slope values in the normalized spectra indicated that the distribution of the biomass across the present size classes was consistent from the shelf to the abyssal depths, irrespective of the decreasing amount of food availability. The fragmented macrofaunal size spectra documented at the two stations were probably due to physical disturbances at the sediment-water interface (e.g., intense bioturbation of holothurians and strong near-bottom currents). Benthic carbon demand declined from 50.7 gC m-2 y-1 at the shelf to 11.5 gC m-2 y-1 at the slope to 2.2 gC m-2 y-1 at the abyssal depths, and its partitioning among meiofauna and macrofauna changed with water depth, with meiofauna contributions increasing from 50 % at the shelf to over 90 % at the deepest station. The estimated total benthic carbon demand exceeded the vertical Corg fluxes, suggesting that the studied system can be particularly sensitive to future changes in productivity regimes and associated organic matter fluxes.

中文翻译：

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北极底栖生物（76-5561 m，弗拉姆海峡）的生物量大小谱、碳需求和产量的测深趋势

这是第一项展示沿从大陆架到北冰洋深海深度的整个测深梯度的底栖生物量大小谱、碳需求和生产的模式和环境控制的研究。这些材料是在弗拉姆海峡东部的 17 个站点 (76 - 5561 m) 收集的，在大西洋通向北冰洋的通道中，在生产性边缘冰区附近，与沉积物结合的叶绿素色素的浓度（表明食物的可用性）来自植物碎屑沉积）高于类似深度的其他深海地区。使用图像分析测量小型底栖动物和大型底栖动物个体，以评估它们的生物量、生物量、年产量和碳需求。该地区的底栖生物量明显高于高北极地区，与低纬度北大西洋相当。生物量和年产量与水深呈显着负相关，大型动物的测深曲线比小型动物更强，并且随着深度的增加，小型动物的主导地位增加。仅在浅台站观察到尺寸谱中的双峰形状，而在低于 2000 m 的深度，谱的大型动物区系部分存在一个额外的槽。整个光谱范围（即尺寸等级的数量）随着深度的增加而减少，特别是在光谱的大型动物部分。归一化光谱中类似的斜率值表明，从货架到深海深度，当前大小等级的生物量分布是一致的，而与食物供应量的减少无关。两个站点记录的破碎的大型动物大小光谱可能是由于沉积物 - 水界面的物理干扰（例如，海参的强烈生物扰动和强烈的近底水流）。底栖碳需求从陆架的 50.7 gC m-2 y-1 下降到斜坡的 11.5 gC m-2 y-1 再到深海深处的 2.2 gC m-2 y-1，其在小型动物和大型动物之间的分配发生了变化随着水深，小型动物群的贡献从架子上的 50% 增加到最深站的 90% 以上。估计的总底栖碳需求超过垂直 Corg 通量，