Changes in species composition and biomass of Arctic benthic communities are predicted to occur in response to environmental changes associated with oceanic warming and sea-ice loss. Such changes will likely impact ecosystem function, including flows of energy and organic material through the Arctic marine food web. Oxygen consumption rates can be used to quantify differences in metabolic demand among species and estimate the effects of shifting community structure on benthic carbon consumption. Closed-system respirometry using non-invasive oxygen optodes was conducted onboard the R/V Sikuliaq in June 2017 and 2018 on six dominant species of benthic macrofauna from the northern Bering and southern Chukchi Sea shelves, including five bivalve species (Macoma sp., Serripes groenlandicus, Astarte sp., Hiatella arctica and Nuculana pernula) and one amphipod species (Ampelisca macrocephala). Results revealed species-specific respiration rates with high metabolic demand for S. groenlandicus and A. macrocephala compared to that of the other species. For a hypothetical 0.1-g ash-free dry mass individual, the standard metabolic rate of S. groenlandicus would be 4.3 times higher than that of Astarte sp. Overall, carbon demand ranged from 8 to 475 μg C individual−1 day−1 for the species and sizes of individuals measured. The allometric scaling of respiration rate with biomass also varied among species. The scaling coefficient was similar for H. arctica, A. macrocephala and Astarte sp., while it was high for S. groenlandicus and low for Macoma sp. These results suggest that observed shifts in spatial distribution of the dominant macrofaunal taxa across this region will impact carbon demand of the benthic community. Hence, ecosystem models seeking to incorporate benthic system functionality may need to differentiate between communities that exhibit different oxygen demands.

中文翻译：

---

底栖生物群落结构的变化可能会影响太平洋北极大陆架上的有机物质消耗

预计北极底栖生物群落物种组成和生物量的变化将响应与海洋变暖和海冰损失相关的环境变化。这些变化可能会影响生态系统功能，包括通过北极海洋食物网的能量和有机物质流动。耗氧率可用于量化物种间代谢需求的差异，并估计群落结构变化对底栖碳消耗的影响。2017 年 6 月和 2018 年，在 R/V Sikuliaq 上对来自白令北部和楚科奇海南部陆架的六种主要底栖大型动物物种进行了使用非侵入性氧气光极的封闭系统呼吸测量，其中包括五种双壳类（Macoma sp.、Serripes groenlandicus, Astarte sp., Hiatella arctica 和 Nuculana pernula) 和一种片脚类动物 (Ampelisca macrocephala)。结果显示，与其他物种相比，对 S. groenlandicus 和 A. macrocephala 具有高代谢需求的物种特异性呼吸速率。对于假设的 0.1-g 无灰干重个体，S. groenlandicus 的标准代谢率将是 Astarte sp. 的 4.3 倍。总体而言，对于测量的个体的物种和大小，碳需求范围为 8 至 475 μg C 个体-1 天-1。呼吸速率与生物量的异速生长比例也因物种而异。H. arctica、A. macrocephala 和 Astarte sp. 的比例系数相似，而 S. groenlandicus 的比例系数高，而 Macoma sp.的比例系数低。这些结果表明，观察到的该地区主要大型动物分类群空间分布的变化将影响底栖生物群落的碳需求。因此，寻求结合底栖系统功能的生态系统模型可能需要区分表现出不同氧气需求的群落。