Time-Series Benthic Community Composition and Biomass and Associated Environmental Characteristics in the Chukchi Sea During the RUSALCA 2004–2012 Program

. Time-series grouping of macrofaunal stations by (a) clustering of stations by macrofaunal composition, by carbon biomass (transformed fourth root), using Bray-Curtis similarity, and (b) nonmetric multidimensional scaling (nMDS), with both analyses using a 45% similarity cutoff. In (a) the transition from red dotted lines to solid black lines indicates the level of similarity grouping where there was a significant similarity between stations ( = 0.05). The clustered stations were subsequently identified within specific water masses, based on bottom salinity values as defined by AW = Anadyr Water (>32.5). BSW = Bering Sea Water (31.8-32.5). ACW = Alaska Coastal Water (<31.8).