Abstract

Community structure and seasonal changes in the population structure of pelagic polychaetes were studied based on zooplankton samples collected by sediment traps moored at 200 m depth in the subarctic and subtropical western North Pacific throughout the year. Eight species belonging to seven genera and seven families occurred at the subarctic station, while twelve species belonging to ten genera and seven families were identified at the subtropical station. Polychaete abundance was 5.37 ± 0.44 ind. m-2 day-1 (annual mean ± standard error) at the subarctic station, and 1.36 ± 0.15 ind. m-2 day-1 at the subtropical station. Polychaete abundance at the subarctic station was high from May to August, but no seasonal patterns were observed at the subtropical station. The dominant species in the subarctic was Tomopteris septentrionalis, which accounted for 62.9% of annual mean abundance; at the subtropical station, the dominant species was Pelagobia sp. (22.8%). In the subarctic, small specimens of T. septentrionalis (<3 mm in body length) occurred only in winter (December-March). No clear seasonal changes in population structure of the subtropical Pelagobia sp. were detected. The latitudinal patterns we observed in the polychaete communities of the western North Pacific were similar to those previously observed in the eastern North Pacific. Changes in the population structure of T. septentrionalis suggest that the life cycle of this species is seasonal in the subarctic region.