Prince Edward Islands Biodiversity 2016-2017 Version 3

Community composition is one of the main factors influencing the function of any given ecosystem, with a more diverse community providing a larger set of services. Benthic community composition can vary at a spatial and temporal scales, with primary production dynamics and benthic food availability being main factors to determine the structure of a given system. Studies have indicated shifts in benthic community composition at Sub-Antarctic Islands over a period of 30 years, linked to variability in food availability driven by climate change. Here we aim to evaluate possible short-term variability in benthic community composition at the Sub Antarctic archipelago Prince Edward Islands (PEIs), sampling stations located across three regions over two consecutive years. The results indicated significant higher species richness and abundances in 2017 than 2016, and some taxa also showed variation among regions around the PEIs. Such effects can be linked to different substratum type of the station sampled or to sampling effort. This study further contribute to understand how benthic communities may change in the near future, an essential information to develop efficient management strategies for this vulnerable marine system.