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A fouling study was conducted in coastal waters southwest of the East China Sea between December 2013 and November 2014. A total of 84 species of fouling organisms belonging to 69 genera, 49 families, and 10 phyla were recorded over the entire year. The community composition was dominated by coastal warm-water species belonging to typical subtropical inner bay communities. The prosperous stage of settlement lasted from April to September, and the adhesion strength of the fouling organisms was the highest in summer. Sessile suspension feeders constituted the main core of settlement for the fouling community. Amphibalanus reticulatus was the most dominant and representative species of fouling organism, and other dominant species included Caprella equilibra, Ectopleura crocea, Anthopleura nigrescens, Stylochus ijimai, Spirobranchus kraussii, Crassostrea angulata, Perna viridis, Jassa falcata, Stenothoe valida, Sphaerozius nitidus, and Biflustra grandicella. The individuals in the fouling community showed a mutual dependence or constraint relationship due to competition for settlement space and food, and they exhibited a particular spatiotemporal distribution in accordance with adaptation to environmental factors. Temperature was the most important environmental factor determining the geographic distribution of fouling organisms. The temperature characteristics of species essentially reflect the differences in the fouling community composition in various climate zones. The species number, settlement stage, and settlement rate of fouling organisms are closely related to water temperature. Local natural environmental conditions (salinity, water currents, light, etc.) as well as human activity (such as aquaculture production) are all important factors affecting the settlement of fouling organisms.

Secondary production by macrofaunal communities in the western Arctic Ocean were quantified during the 4th and 5th Chinese Arctic Scientific Expeditions. The total production and P/B ratio for each sector ranged from 3.8 (±7.9) to 615.6 (±635.5) kJ m −2 yr −1 and 0.5 (± 0.2) to 0.7 (± 0.2) yr −1 , respectively. The shallow shelves in the western Arctic Ocean exhibited particularly high production (178.7–615.6 kJ m −2 yr −1 ), particularly in the two “hotspots” – the southern and northeastern (around Barrow Canyon) Chukchi Sea. Benthic macrofaunal production decreased sharply with depth and latitude along a shelf–slope–basin transect, with values of 17.0–269.8 kJ m −2 yr −1 in slope regions and 3.8–10.1 kJ m −2 yr −1 in basins. Redundancy analysis indicated that hydrological characteristics (depth, bottom temperature and salinity) and granulometric parameters (mean particle size, % sand and % clay) show significant positive/negative correlations with total production. These correlations revealed that the dominant factors influencing benthic production are the habitat type and food supply from the overlying water column. In the Arctic, the extreme environmental conditions and low temperature constrain macrofaunal metabolic processes, such that food and energy are primarily used to increase body mass rather than for reproduction. Hence, energy turnover is relatively low at high latitudes. These data further our understanding of benthic production processes and ecosystem dynamics in the context of rapid climate change in the western Arctic Ocean.

Field sampling of the macrobenthos from 23 stations in the Chukchi Sea was conducted during the 4th CHINARE (Chinese National Arctic Research Expeditions, July–August, 2010). We identified a total of 140 species of macrozoobenthos belonging to nine phyla, which were dominated by polychaetes (66), crustaceans (30), and mollusks (25), followed by echinoderms (9) and others (ten others, including four cnidarians, one oligochaete, one sipuncula, one priapulida, two bryozoans, and one urochordata). The dominant species were Aphelochaeta pacifica, Heteromastus filiformis, Nephtys ciliata, Nephtys caeca, Scoletoma fragilis, Golfingia margaritacea, Nuculana pernula, Macoma calcarea, Ennucula tenuis, Macoma inquinata, Musculus discors, Echinarachnius parma, and Ophiura sarsii, so there were more cold-eurythermal boreal immigrants than truly Arctic species (endemics). The average density and biomass (mean ± SD across all stations) of the total macrozoobenthos were (916 ± 907) ind/m2 and (902.9 ± 1 227.7) g/m2 (wet weight), respectively. Relatively high density and biomass were observed in the samples from the northeastern and southern Chukchi Sea. The spatial variation of benthic communities in the study sea area was relatively large; this spatial heterogeneity has led to high diversity and a patchy distribution pattern in the community structure. Compared to the 1st CHINARE (July–August, 1999), this investigation revealed different degrees of decreases in the average taxa numbers and the average density, abundance, and biodiversity in the area over the recent decade, which might be associated with global warming, human activities, and sea ice variations.

Field investigations of marine macrobenthos were conducted at ten sites in the Bering Sea in July 2010. Altogether 90 species of macrobenthos belonging to 59 families and 78 genera were identified. Among them, 41 polychaetes, 16 mollusks, 23 crustaceans, three echinoderms, two cnidarians, one nemertean, one priapulid, two sipunculids, and one echiuran were identified. The average density and biomass of total macrobenthos were 984 ind./m2 and 1 207.1 g/m2 of wet weight, respectively. The predominant species in the study area were Scoloplos armiger, Eudorella pacifica, Ophiura sarsii, Heteromastus filiformis, Ennucula tenuis, and Harpiniopsis vadiculus by abundance, while the predominant species in this area was Echinarachnius parma by biomass. Hierarchical cluster analysis (Bray-Curtis similarity measure) revealed that two important benthic assemblages in the study area were Community A and Community B. Community A was stable and Community B was unstable, as shown by the Abundance/Biomass Comparisons (ABC) approach. The macrobenthic community structure in the shelf of the Bering Sea was characterized by its high abundance and biomass, high productivity but great heterogeneity.

A new species of pycnogonid collected by the Chinese research vessel, R/V HY IV, during deep sea cruises to the South China Sea in 2013, is described. The new species, Hemichela nanhaiensis, obtained from more than 1300 m depth, is distinguished from the other two species in the genus by the characters of the chela dactylus with 12 denticulations on the inner margin and by the presence of taller tubercles on the lateral processes.