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The Continental Shelf of Crete: The Benthic Environment
Ioanni Karakassis,
Anastasios Eleftheriou,
Ioanni Karakassis
Institute of Marine Biology of Crete, PO Box 2214, 71003 Heraklion, Crete, Greece. E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorAnastasios Eleftheriou
Institute of Marine Biology of Crete, PO Box 2214, 71003 Heraklion, Crete, Greece. E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorIoanni Karakassis,
Anastasios Eleftheriou,
Ioanni Karakassis
Institute of Marine Biology of Crete, PO Box 2214, 71003 Heraklion, Crete, Greece. E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorAnastasios Eleftheriou
Institute of Marine Biology of Crete, PO Box 2214, 71003 Heraklion, Crete, Greece. E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Abstract. Sediment characteristics determining macrofauna communities were investigated on the continental shelf of Crete. The sedimentary environment of the outer continental shelf of Crete is characterized by a silty substrate with significant decrease in chlorophyll a and organic carbon concentration with depth. Redox potential values indicated an ample supply of oxygen at all depths. Values of most production-related parameters TOC, chlorophyll a, ATP were found at the low end of the range reported from the literature even though the sampling stations were very close to the coastline. Organic carbon to chlorophyll ratios in the sediments indicated that most of the organic material is of phytoplankton origin; the quality of the organic material in the outer shelf, however, seems to be of lower bioavailability.
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