Evaluating a Potential Relict Arctic Invertebrate and Algal Community on the West Side of Cook Inlet
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Evaluating a Potential Relict Arctic Invertebrate and Algal Community on the West Side of Cook Inlet Nora R. Foster Principal Investigator Additional Researchers: Dennis Lees Sandra C. Lindstrom Sue Saupe Final Report OCS Study MMS 2010-005 November 2010 This study was funded in part by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) through Cooperative Agreement No. 1435-01-02-CA-85294, Task Order No. 37357, between BOEMRE, Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. This report, OCS Study MMS 2010-005, is available from the Coastal Marine Institute (CMI), School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220. Electronic copies can be downloaded from the MMS website at www.mms.gov/alaska/ref/akpubs.htm. Hard copies are available free of charge, as long as the supply lasts, from the above address. Requests may be placed with Ms. Sharice Walker, CMI, by phone (907) 474-7208, by fax (907) 474-7204, or by email at [email protected]. Once the limited supply is gone, copies will be available from the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161, or may be inspected at selected Federal Depository Libraries. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Government. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Government. Evaluating a Potential Relict Arctic Invertebrate and Algal Community on the West Side of Cook Inlet Nora R. Foster Principal Investigator Additional Researchers: Dennis Lees Sandra C. Lindstrom Sue Saupe Final Report OCS Study MMS 2010-005 November 2010 Contact information email: [email protected] phone: 907.474.7208 fax: 907.474.7204 Coastal Marine Institute School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences University of Alaska Fairbanks P. O. Box 757220 Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220 1 Table of Contents List of Figures..................................................................................................................................3 List of Tables...................................................................................................................................4 Abstract............................................................................................................................................5 Introduction......................................................................................................................................6 A. Purpose............................................................................................................................7 B. Geology...........................................................................................................................8 C. Physical Oceanography...................................................................................................9 D. Marine Invertebrate and Algal Biota............................................................................13 Methods.........................................................................................................................................15 A. Sources of Information.................................................................................................15 B. Biogeographical Definitions.........................................................................................18 Results ...........................................................................................................................................19 A. Invertebrates.................................................................................................................19 B. Algae.............................................................................................................................36 Discussion.....................................................................................................................................41 A. Limitations of the Study..............................................................................................41 B. Biogeography...............................................................................................................42 C. Implications for Management......................................................................................43 D. Recommendations for Continued Study......................................................................43 Acknowledgments.........................................................................................................................45 Study Products...............................................................................................................................45 References......................................................................................................................................46 Appendix........................................................................................................................................52 2 List of Figures Figure 1. The study area.........................................................................................................7 Figure 2. Location and extent of the Pleistocene proglacial lake...........................................9 Figure 3. Ocean currents in the Gulf of Alaska....................................................................12 Figure 4. Currents in Cook Inlet...........................................................................................12 Figure 5. Comparison of regional similarity in dendrograms differing by type of weighting..............................................................................................29 Figure 6. Comparison of regional similarity in 2-dimensional spaces that differ by type of weighting.............................................................................31 Figure 7. Dendrogram depicting relationships among regions based solely on their Bryozoan assemblages..................................................................33 Figure 8. Dendrogram showing Bryozoan species relationships based on their Distribution Among the Four Regions....................................................33 Figure 9. Dendrogram depicting relationships among regions based solely on their Molluscan assemblages.................................................................36 Figure 10. The Beringian landmass........................................................................................42 3 List of Tables Table 1. Abundance codes based on reported relative abundance in reports used to build regional faunal tables.......................................................................16 Table 2. Trophic codes for various suspected trophic modes..............................................16 Table 3. Taxon codes for major taxonomic designations....................................................17 Table 4. Size codes for relative size categories...................................................................18 Table 5. Summary by major taxonomic group of taxa used for regional comparison.............................................................................................................19 Table 6. Number of major taxa recorded in regions considered in this study and taxon codes designated for taxa......................................................................21 Table 7. Comparison of species that southern regions have in common with the Arctic species based on species that occur on the west side of Cook Inlet. ............................................................................................................22 Table 8. Numbers of higher taxa with Arctic affinities identified from the west side of Cook Inlet..........................................................................................22 Table 9. Species found both in Arctic and on the west side of Cook Inlet..........................23 Table 10. Biogeographical affinities for Invertebrates with distributions including western Cook Inlet and the Arctic.........................................................25 Table 11. Species with isolated occurrences on west side of Cook Inlet..............................26 Table 12. Comparison of nodes linking the regions and weighting options.........................27 Table 13. Differences in weighting due to taxonomic level, trophic structure, and size codes........................................................................................................27 Table 14. Nodal analysis showing distribution of species and species groups among the four regions..........................................................................................34 Table 15. Algae known from both the west side of Cook Inlet and the arctic coast of Alaska......................................................................................................38 Table 16 Clade 1..................................................................................................................39 Table 17. Clade 5..................................................................................................................40 4 Abstract This work describes anomalous occurrences of Arctic epifaunal invertebrates and algae along the western side of Cook Inlet. It also expands the basis for an earlier finding that the biota in upper Cook Inlet belongs to the subpolar