Influence of the St. Lawrence Island Polynya upon the Bering Sea benthos

The influence of a polynya, a persistent ice‐free region, on water column production and subsequent transport to the shallow continental shelf benthos of the Bering Sea was evaluated by studying spatial patterns of organic material deposition, benthic biomass, community sediment metabolism, benthic population structure, and other potential indicators of enhanced organic carbon transport to benthic communities underlying the St. Lawrence Island Polynya. Despite suggestions that polynyas may be important localized centers of primary production in polar waters, we found that the St. Lawrence Island Polynya does not obviously enhance the biomass of benthic communities directly below the polynya. However, southward flowing, baroclinic currents generated as a result of brine injection at the polynya edge do appear to have an influence on the biomass and ecological structure of Bering Sea benthic communities south of St. Lawrence Island. These currents appear to affect mean sediment oxygen consumption, surface organic carbon/nitrogen ratios, total organic content, and bottom water ammonia by sweeping phytodetrital matter south and to the west of the island. A particle‐reactive, short‐lived, natural radioisotope, 7Be, used as an indicator of rapid (days to weeks) deposition of particulate material from the water column, was detected only in surface sediments to the southwest of the island, indicating enhancement of particle deposition to the southwest of the island. Finally, the 18O content of tunicate cellulose was highest in the polynya region, consistent with increased filter feeding in the late winter when the polynya is present, and presumably promoting primary production in the open water. The Anadyr Current, consisting of nutrient‐rich, deeper Bering Sea water that is upwelled onto the shelf in the Gulf of Anadyr, flows west to east in the region south of St. Lawrence Island throughout the year and is the major forcing function for high production in the region. The interaction of Anadyr Water with the winter/spring ephemeral polynya and associated baroclinic currents combine to positively influence benthic communities.