Soft-sediment macrozoobenthos from Domain 1 (Antarctica): A preliminary report using community parameters and proxies

The present scientific report presents the analysis of a database compilation in order to describe the macrobenthic communities and geochemical proxies biogenic opal and total organic carbon (TOC) present on the seafloor of Domain 1. The soft sediment macrobenthic communities were analyzed from different approaches. We describe the macrobenthos by means of traditional parameters such as abundance and biomass. The biodiversity of two selected and taxonomical well-studied taxa (Polychaeta and Mollusca) was also analyzed. Additionally, we include a functional treat as the secondary production. We also used geochemical proxies biogenic opal and total organic carbon (TOC). We observed highest biogenic opal and TOC in sites with highest density of benthic organisms. Although, sampling effort can play an important role in the results, data suggests that the seafloor around King George Island can be considered as a hot-spot of diversity as well as production, and the geochemical proxies are in agree with the highest secondary production presented in this study. Seems to be that these proxies are indicators of “hot spots” zone and mimic the high water productivity in these zones. Thus, the present report confirms the importance of studying important benthic areas as it can provide valuable information in the determination of important areas for conservation.