Where's my dinner? Do Arctic benthic communities show preferential food uptake?

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Project OverviewThe project will investigate the benthic macrofaunal communities along a Longitudinal transect in the Barents Sea, and over different seasons to try and determine whether the fauna preferentially feed on ice algae as opposed to phytoplanktonThe project Year 1: Literature review on the changing faunal community in the Barents Sea, and more widely in the Arctic and the impact of a changing climate and food resources.To identify the fauna to allow for determining the composition and, species and functional diversity of the benthic communities Year 2: Time spent at Akvaplan-niva/University of Tromso to aid with identification. Investigations of the highly branched isoprenoids found in the larger benthic fauna.Year 3: To determine the molecular (lipids) and isotopic (15N and 13C) ratios of selected fauna representing the different size classes at pre-determined locations in order to identify trophic position, relationships and resource partitioning.Supervisory TeamDr Bhavani Narayanaswamy (SAMS)Dr Kim Last (SAMS)Dr David Mckee (University of Strathclyde)Dr Paul Renaud (Akvaplan-niva)Professor Bodil Bluhm (University of Tromso)