Meiofaunal responses to sedimentation from an Alaskan spring bloom. I Major taxa

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Abstract
Metazoan meiofaunal community dynamics and spring phytoplankton bloom sedimentation rates were measured concurrently in Auke Bay, Alaska, from 1985 to 1988. We test the null hypothesis that recruitment and density maxima are unrelated to sedimentation events. Springtime chlorophyll a sedimentation was predictable and episodic, occurring annually at peak rates during mid-May at 35 m; carbon sedimentation was continuous through the spring. Cumulative sedimentation varied from year to year, ranging from lowest to highest by a factor of 2. At a 30 m station, seasonal variation in major taxon density was not identifiable, however interannual variations in meiofaunal densities did occur. No consistent relationship between meiofaunal abundances and spring chl a or carbon sedimentation was found, i.e. years with the highest or lowest nematode and harpacticoid abundances did not correspond to years with the highest to lowest values for sedimentation. Other factors must regulate the interannual variation in meiofauna, at least over the range of values for sedimentation in Auke Bay.