We examined the patterns of propagule recruitment to assess the timescale and trajectory of succession and the possible roles of physical factors in controlling benthic community structure in a shallow High Arctic kelp bed in the Beaufort Sea, Alaska. Spatial differences in established epilithic assemblages were evaluated against static habitat attributes (depth, distance from river inputs) and environmental factors (temperature, salinity, current speed, underwater light) collected continuously over 2–6 years. Our measurements revealed that bottom waters remained below freezing (mean winter temperatures ∼−1.8°C) and saline (33–36) with negligible light levels for 8–9 months. In contrast, the summer open water period was characterized by variable salinities (22–36), higher temperatures (up to 8–9°C) and measurable irradiance (1–8 mol photons m^–2 day^–1). An inshore, near-river site experienced strong, acute, springtime drops in salinity to nearly 0 in some years. The epilithic community was dominated by foliose red algae (47–79%), prostrate kelps (2–19%), and crustose coralline algae (0–19%). Strong spatial distinctions among sites included a positive correlation between cover by crustose coralline algae and distance to river inputs, but we found no significant relationships between multi-year means of physical factors and functional groups. Low rates of colonization and the very slow growth rates of recruits are the main factors that contribute to prolonged community development, which augments the influence of low-frequency physical events over local community structure. Mortality during early succession largely determines crustose coralline algal and invertebrate prevalence in the established community, while kelp seem to be recruitment-limited. On scales > 1 m, community structure varies with bathymetry and exposure to freshwater intrusion, which regulate frequency of primary and physiological disturbance. Colonization rates (means of 3.3–69.9 ind. 100 cm^–1 year^–1 site^–1) were much lower than studies in other Arctic kelp habitats, and likely reflect the nature of a truly High Arctic environment. Our results suggest that community development in the nearshore Beaufort Sea occurs over decades, and is affected by combinations of recruitment limitation, primary disturbance, and abiotic stressors. While seasonality exerts strong influence on Arctic systems, static habitat characteristics largely determine benthic ecosystem structure by integrating seasonal and interannual variability over timescales longer than most ecological studies.

我们研究了繁殖体繁殖的模式，以评估演替的时间尺度和轨迹，以及物理因素在控制阿拉斯加波弗特海浅高海藻海藻床底栖生物群落结构中的可能作用。根据固定栖息地属性（深度，距河流输入的距离）和环境因子（温度，盐度，当前速度，水下光）在2–6年内连续收集，评估已建立的石器时代组合的空间差异。我们的测量表明，底部水在8-9个月的光照水平保持不变的情况下仍保持在冰点以下（冬季平均温度为-1.8°C）和盐水（33-36）以下。相比之下，夏季开放水期的特征是盐度可变（22–36），温度较高（高达8–9°C）和可测量的辐照度（1–8 mol光子m^–2天^–1）。近几年来，近岸近岸河段的盐分剧烈，剧烈，春季下降，在某些年份几乎降至零。上石器时代的社区以叶藻红藻（47–79％），pro海带（2–19％）和地壳珊瑚藻（0–19％）为主。地点之间的强烈空间差异包括rust壳珊瑚藻的覆盖度与到河水输入的距离之间呈正相关，但我们发现多年的物理因素与功能组之间没有显着的关系。殖民化率低和新兵增长速度非常缓慢是导致社区长期发展的主要因素，这加剧了低频物理事件对当地社区结构的影响。早期继承期间的死亡率在很大程度上决定了已建立社区的甲壳珊瑚藻和无脊椎动物患病率，而海带似乎是受限制的招聘。在大于1 m的尺度上，群落结构会随着测深法和暴露于淡水入侵而变化，从而调节原发性和生理性干扰的频率。定殖率（平均100 cm为3.3-69.9）^–1年^–1个地点^–1）远远低于其他北极海带栖息地的研究，可能反映了真正的北极高海拔环境的性质。我们的结果表明，近岸博福特海的社区发展发生了数十年，并受到募集限制，原发性干扰和非生物胁迫因素的组合的影响。虽然季节性对北极系统产生很大影响，但静态栖息地的特征在很大程度上比底栖生态系统结构更重要，因为它整合了比大多数生态学研究更长的时间尺度上的季节性和年际变化。