Recolonisation of meiofauna after catastrophic iceberg scouring in shallowAntarctic sediments

A series of 10 samples from sediment in and adjacent to a shallow coastal i ceberg scour at Signy Island. Antarctica. were taken by hand coring from 17 December 1993 until 23 August 1994. Scouring by the iceberg led to more th an a 95% decrease in meiofaunal abundance and to a certain degree of reduct ion in diversity. Nematodes were always the most dominant group of meiofaun a. The return of major meiofauna groups to control levels was accomplished in 30 days, although a decrease in abundance on the 50th day made interpret ation difficult. The pioneering meiofaunal colonisers were copepods and ost racods. followed by nematodes. Microlaimus sp.1 was dominant among the nema todes throughout the whole period. Epistratum feeders and non-selective dep osit feeders were highly dominant over selective deposit feeders and predat ors/omnivores. The Maturity Index. a measure for stress within nematode com munities. was relatively low at all times and in controls, which indicates that r-strategists prevail in this community. In spite of the catastrophic destruction, nematode community structure was not affected by the iceberg i mpact. and there was no evidence of succession during recovery. This sugges ts that the nematode community in the shallow subtidal coast at Signy Islan d is well adapted to ice disturbance.