Examining two macro invertebrate communities using functional traits and environmental
variables in and around Barrow canyon in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas
Kimberly Rand1, Elizabeth Logerwell1, Bodil Bluhm2, Héloïse Chenolot, Seth Danielson3,
Katrin Iken3 and Leandra de Sousa4
1
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA NMFS, Seattle, WA, USA. E-mail: kimberly.rand@noaa.gov
Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway
3
Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA
4
Department of Wildlife Management, North Slope Borough, Barrow, AK, USA
2
How an animal functions and relates to the environment can be used as a measure to characterize
and compare systems beyond the extent of species diversity in a community. In this study, we
examined basic functional traits of the dominant macro invertebrates (e.g. mobility, feeding)
along with environmental variables (e.g. sediment, salinity) in two high Arctic systems in and
around Barrow Canyon: the northwest Chukchi Sea and the western Beaufort Sea. Both
communities are characterized by a large biomass of invertebrates and high species diversity. In
both the northwest Chukchi Sea and western Beaufort Sea, 95% of the total biomass of
invertebrates is comprised of no more than 30 species. Although these two communities are
highly diverse (>175 species), the top 5 dominant species within each community are different.
These results will be used as a basis to study basic underlying mechanisms that drive community
structure. Finally, our conclusions will be discussed in the context of Arctic oil and gas
development and climate change.