Mesozooplankton distribution and diversity from the Bering Sea shelf to the Chukchi Sea

In recent decades,environmental changes in the Arctic have aroused widespread concern around the world.To better understand ecology issues such as ecosystem dynamics,the Arctic and the subarctic regions were integrated as the“pan-Arctic”region.In this study,mesozooplankton were sampled from the Bering Sea shelf to the northern Chukchi Sea during the 10th Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition in 2019.Based on the species composition and abundance,three geographical communities were identified:the Bering Sea shelf community(BSS),the Bering Strait transitional community(BST),and the Chukchi Sea shelf community(CSS).The BSS was characterized by Bering Sea oceanic species such as Eucalanus bungii;the BST was mainly composed of the pan-Arctic distributed Calanus glacialis,meroplankton of benthos,and neritic species such as Centropages abdominalis;copepods,especially the copepodite of C.glacialis,were predominant in the CSS community.The BSS community structure was strongly affected by the inflow of Bering Shelf Water,while those of BST and CSS were determined by the recruitment of local species.The zooplankton community structure is influenced by both advection and environmental changes such as warming and a prolonged productivity period.Here,it was difficult to distinguish the changes induced by climate change from the effects of the Bering Sea Water.The key to solving this problem is the accumulation of comparable data,which requires continuous monitoring of key species such as C.glacialis and Calanus hyperboreus.

Relationship between Bering Sea Ice Cover and East Asian Winter Monsoon Year-to-Year Variations

In this study, the relationship between year-to-year variations in the Bering Sea ice cover （BSIC） and the East Asian winter monsoon （EAWM） for the period 1969-2001 was documented. The time series of total ice cover in the eastern Bering Sea correlated with the EAWM index at -0.49, indicating that they are two tightly related components. Our results show that the BSIC was closely associated with the simultaneous local and large-scale atmosphere over the Asian-northern Pacific region. Heavy BSIC corresponded to weaker EAWM circulations and light BSIC corresponded to stronger EAWM circulations. Thus, the BSIC should be considered as one of the possible factors affecting the EAWM variation.

Water mass of the northward throughflow in the Bering Strait in the summer of 2003

The temperature and salinity data obtained by the Chinese national arctic research expedition （CHINARE2003） are used to study the water structure in the Bering Strait and ambient regions. Four water masses appeared in the research region： the intermediate Bering Sea water mass （IBWM）, the Alaska coastal water （ACW）, the Anadyr water （AW） and the Bering shelf water （BSW）. The AW originates from the IBWM, but the upper layer water has been greatly altered. In the cruise on 28/29 July 2003, there were only the BSW and ACW in a section across the Bering Strait （BS section）, but in the September 12/13 cruise, the AW, BSW and ACW flowed parallelly into the Bering Strait. The upper waters of these water masses were all altered due to ice melting, runoff, solar radiation, and wind mixing. The waters in the central and northern parts of Bering Strait stratified by two uniform layers,were expressed as the typical feature of the water masses originating from the pacific. A two-layer structure also dominated the vertical stratification in most part of the Chukchi Sea. An obvious subseasonal variation was observed in the BS section, which caused varying transportation of fresh water, heat, and substance, and produced a long-term and extensive impact on the Arctic Ocean.

The fundamental characteristics of current in the Bering Strait and the Chukchi Sea from July to September 2003

The characteristics of current in the Bering Strait and the Chukchi Sea areanalyzed based on the two current data on the mooring stations during the Second National ArcticResearch Expedition of China in 2003. The tidal currents of the principal diurnal and semidiurnalellipses rotate clockwise in the upper layer, except for N_2, S_2, and Q_1 at Sta. ST. In the BeringStrait (Sta. ST), the major semi-axis of tidal current constituent M_2 is 2.9 cm/s in the upperlayer, which is much smaller than that of semi-monthly oscillation (11.8 cm/s); and the mean currentflows northwestward at the amplitude of about 20 cm/s and varies a little with depth. During thecruise, the current has significant semi-monthly oscillation at the two mooring stations. Thespectra analyses of the air pressure gradient and the wind stress show that there are thesemi-monthly oscillations in these two data series. The near-inertial current, approximately 4 cm/s,presents almost the same magnitude of the principal tidal currents in the Bering Strait.

Phytoplankton composition and its ecological effect in subsurface cold pool of the northern Bering Sea in summer as revealed by HPLC derived pigment signatures

CHEMTAX analysis of high-performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） pigment was conducted to study phytoplankton community structure in the northern Bering Sea shelf, where a seasonal subsurface cold pool emerges. The results showed that fucoxanthin （Fuco） and chlorophyll a （Chl a） were the most abundant diagnostic pigments, with the integrated water column values ranging from 141 to 2160 μg/m2 and 477 to 5 535 μg/m2, respectively. Moreover, a diatom bloom was identified at Sta. BB06 with the standing stock of Fuco up to 9214 μg/m3. The results of CHEMTAX suggested that the phytoplankton community in the northern Bering Sea shelf was dominated by diatoms and chrysophytes with an average relative contribu- tion to Chl a of 80% and 12%, respectively, followed by chlorophytes, dinoflagellates, and cryptophytes. Dia- toms were the absolutely dominant algae in the subsurface cold pool with a relative contribution exceeding 90%, while the contribution of chrysophytes was generally higher in oligotrophic upper water. Additionally, the presence of a cold pool would tend to favor accumulation of diatom biomass and a bloom that occurred beneath the halocline would be beneficial to organic matter sinks, which suggests that a large part of the phytoplankton biomass would settle to the seabed and support a rich benthic biomass.

Sea-level variation/change and thermal contribution in the Bering Sea

The long-term sea-level trend in the Bering Sea is obtained by the analysisof TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter data, including the data of two tide gauges. The averaged sea-level inthe Bering Sea rises at a rate of 2.47 mm/a from 1992 to 2002. The mean sea-level is falling in themost part of the Bering Sea, especially in its central basin, and it is rising in the northeasternpart of the Bering Sea. During the 1998/99 change, the sea-level anomaly differences exhibit asignificant sea-level anomaly fall in the deep basin of the Bering Sea, which is roughly in the sameposition where a prominent SST fall exists. The maximal fall of sea-level is about 10 cm in thesouthwestern part of the Bering Sea, and the maximal fall of about 2℃ in the SST also appeared inthe same region as the sea level did. The steric sea-level change due to temperature variations isdiscussed. The results are compared with the TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter data at the different spatialscales. It is indicated that the seasonal amplitude of the steric height is about 35% of theobserved TOPEX/Poseidon amplitude, which is much smaller than the 83% in the mid-latitudes area. Thesystematic difference between the TOPEX/Poseidon data with the range of about 7.5 cm and thethermal contribution with the range of about 2.5 cm is about 5 cm. This indicates that the thermaleffect on the sea level is not as important as the case in the mid-latitudes area. In the BeringSea, the phase of the steric height leads the observed sea level by about three months.

Seasonal and Interannual Variability of Bering Strait Throughflow from AO-FVCOM and Observation

A high-resolution Arctic Ocean-Finite Volume Community Ocean Model(AO-FVCOM) and observational current data from 14 mooring stations in Bering Strait and surrounding regions between 1990 and 2015 were used to study the seasonal and interannual variability of Bering Strait throughflow(BST). AO-FVCOM represented the BST with a climatological northward flux of 1.06 Sv, which was close to the observational mean of 0.94 ± 0.26 Sv. From the model results, the strongest volume flux was in summer, approximately 45% larger than that in winter. Interannual variability of BST was also indicated in the model results, and the maximum and minimum annual mean transports are in 2007 and 2012, respectively. AO-FVCOM showed larger differences from the observations in 2000, 2002, and 2015 than in other years, which may be related to the limitation of atmospheric forcing for the model. According to the driving mechanisms of BST, sea level difference(SLD) across the strait dominates the northward volume transport, and local wind is also important in forcing the seasonal variability of the BST and SLD patterns to change the BST indirectly.

Sound velocity and related properties of seafloor sediments in the Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea

The Bering Sea shelf and Chukchi Sea shelf are believed to hold enormous oil and gas reserves which have attracted a lot of geophysical surveys. For the interpretation of acoustic geophysical survey results, sediment sound velocity is one of the main parameters. On seven sediment cores collected from the Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea during the 5th Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition, sound velocity measurements were made at 35, 50, 100, 135, 150, 174, 200, and 250 kHz using eight separate pairs of ultrasonic transducers. The measured sound velocities range from 1 425.1 m/s to 1 606.4 m/s and are dispersive with the degrees of dispersion from 2.2% to 4.0% over a frequency range of 35-250 kHz. After the sound velocity measurements, the measurements of selected geotechnical properties and the Scanning Electron Microscopic observation of microstructure were also made on the sediment cores. The results show that the seafioor sediments are composed of silty sand, sandy silt, coarse silt, clayey silt, sand-silt-clay and silty clay. Aggregate and diatom debris is found in the seafloor sediments. Through comparative analysis of microphotographs and geotechnical properties, it is assumed that the large pore spaces between aggregates and the intraparticulate porosity of diatom debris increase the porosity of the seafioor sediments, and affect other geotechnical properties. The correlation analysis of sound velocity and geotechnical properties shows that the correlation of sound velocity with porosity and wet bulk density is extreme significant, while the correlation of sound velocity with clay content, mean grain size and organic content is not significant. The regression equations between porosity, wet bulk density and sound velocity based on best-fit polynomial are given.

Community structure and spatial distribution of macrobenthos in the shelf area of the Bering Sea

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 1207.1 g/ma 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 impor- tant benthic assemblages in the study area were CommunityA and Community B. CommunityA 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.

Application of long-chain alkenones and U_(37)~k values for paleotemperature estimation in the Arctic Chukchi Sea-Bering Sea area

Long-chain alkenones were detected in samples of sea surface sediments from the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea areas, the Arctic Pole. The analysis result indicates that C37:3 methylketone is predominate in the long-chain alkenones from the Chukchi and Bering Sea sediments. The abundance of C37 to C39 unsaturated alkenones changes in an order of C37 > C38 > C39. Based on C37 /C38 ratio, the detected organism precursors of the long-chain alkenones are mainly coccolithophrid (Emiliania huxleyi). By the calibration relationship between U37k and U37k indices, the sea surface paleotemperature in these seas is estimated. The estimated values of U37k vary from 4.147℃ to 5.706℃ , with a mean value of 5.092℃.

The Relationship between Melt Season Sea Ice over the Bering Sea and Summer Precipitation over Mid-Latitude East Asia

Independent datasets consistently indicate a significant correlation between the sea ice variability in the Bering Sea during melt season and the summer rainfall variability in the Lake Baikal area and Northeastern China.In this study,four sea ice datasets(HadISST1,HadISST2.2,ERA-Interim and NOAA/NSIDC)and two global precipitation datasets(CRU V4.01 and GPCP V2.3)are used to investigate co-variations between melt season(March−April−May−June,MAMJ)Bering Sea ice cover(BSIC)and summer(June−July−August,JJA)East Asian precipitation.All datasets demonstrate a significant correlation between the MAMJ BSIC and the JJA rainfall in Lake Baikal−Northeastern China(Baikal−NEC).Based on the reanalysis datasets and the numerical sensitivity experiments performed in this study using Community Atmospheric Model version 5(CAM5),a mechanism to understand how the MAMJ BSIC influences the JJA Baikal−NEC rainfall is suggested.More MAMJ BSIC triggers a wave train and causes a positive sea level pressure(SLP)anomaly over the North Atlantic during MAMJ.The high SLP anomaly,associated with an anti-cyclonic wind stress circulation anomaly,favors the appearance of sea surface temperature(SST)anomalies in a zonal dipole-pattern in the North Atlantic during summer.The dipole SST anomaly drives a zonally orientated wave train,which causes a high anomaly geopotential height at 500 hPa over the Sea of Japan.As a result,the mean East Asian trough moves westward and a low geopotential height anomaly occurs over Baikal−NEC.This prevailing regional low pressure anomaly together with enhanced moisture transport from the western North Pacific and convergence over Baikal−NEC,positively influences the increased rainfall in summer.

Difference of planktonic ciliate communities of the tropical West Pacific, the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean

Ciliates are important components in planktonic food webs,but our understanding of their community structures in different oceanic water masses is limited.We report pelagic ciliate community characteristics in three seas:the tropical West Pacific,the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean.Planktonic ciliate abundance had"bimodal-peak","surface-peak"and"DCM(deep chlorophyll a maximum layer)-peak"vertical distribution patterns in the tropical West Pacific,the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean,respectively.The abundance proportion of tintinnid to total ciliate in the Bering Sea(42.6%)was higher than both the tropical West Pacific(7.8%)and the Arctic Ocean(2.0%).The abundance proportion of small aloricate ciliates(10–20μm size-fraction)in the tropical West Pacific was highest in these three seas.The Arctic Ocean had higher abundance proportion of tintinnids in larger LOD(lorica oral diameter)size-class.Proportion of redundant species increased from the Arctic Ocean to the tropical West Pacific.Our result provided useful data to further understand ecology roles of planktonic ciliates in different marine habitats.

Paleoceanographic records and sea ice extension history on the slope of the northern Bering Sea over the last 100 ka B.P.

Quantitative analytic results of the biogenic components in Core B2-9 fromthe northern Bering Sea slope indicate that the coarse fraction and opal content, serving as proxiesof surface productivity, have increased stepwise since the marine isotope stageCMISJS.S, reflectingperiodic enhancement in surface productivity.The surface productivity attained its highest levelduring the Holocene, followed by MIS 3.2 to 2 and then MIS 5.3 to 3.3 with a lowest level. Hightotal organic carbon(TOC) contents, together with high C/N ratios, which stand mostly between 7 and20, show that the TOC was deposited from mixing sources. Therefore,one has to be cautious to use TOCas a proxy of surface productivity.The high TOC and C/N ratio during MIS 5.1, 3.3 to 3.2 and theHolocene reflect that the terrigenous organic matter input increased during interglacialperiods.Increases in the fine- and silt-grained terrigenous components from MIS 5.3 to the middleHolocene imply that with the cooling climate, sea ice on the Bering Sea slope extended continuously.Ice-rafted and charcoal detritus increased during glacial, interstadial and the last deglaciationperiods and decreased during interglacial periods, suggesting that sea ice on the slope increasedand melted, respectively, during glacial and interglacial periods. The extension of sea ice duringglacial periods.which was linked with the climate over the North American Continent, responded toglobal climate change during late Quaternary glacial and interglacial cycles.

Distribution and Sources of Organic Matter in Surface Sediments of the Northern Bering and Chukchi Seas by Using Bulk and Tetraether Proxies

The organic matter (OM) preserved in Arctic Ocean sediments is of great importance to the global carbon budget. How-ever, works that apply multiple proxies to determine the distribution and concentration of organic carbon (OC) in the surface sedi-ments of the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas remain limited. Here a multiproxy approach based on bulk OM parameters and the branched vs. isoprenoid tetraether (BIT) index was used to investigate the distribution and sources of OM in the surface sediments of the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas. Binary and ternary mixing models were applied to trace the contribution of different OC sources to the total OC in the study area. The δ13C values of the sediments provided by the binary model showed that the proportion of terrestrial OC fell in the range of 27.4%–79.8% (46.2% on average). The BIT index returned the lowest fraction (4.8%–27.3%, 12.0% on average). The ternary mixing model was employed to determine the plant-, soil-, and marine-derived fractions of the total OM. The ternary model showed that 11.5%±6.3%, 31.4%±9.5%, and 57.1%±12.4% of OM in the sediment of the study area was derived from soil, plants, and marine sources, respectively. The differences in OM composition between the west and east sides of the Chukchi Sea were controlled by OM inputs from key water masses (i.e., Anadyr Water and Alaska Coastal Water), river discharge, and the nutrient supply from the Pacific inflow that supports marine productivity.

Distribution of dissolved oxygen and causes of maximum concentration in the Bering Sea in July 2010

According to data obtained in the Bering Sea during the 4th Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition, the distribution of dissolved oxygen （DO） was studied, causes of its maximum concentration were discussed, and the relationships between DO and other parameters, such as saliniW, temperature, and chlorophyll a were analyzed. The results showed DO concentration ranged from 0.53 to 12.05 mg/L in the Bering Sea basin. The upper waters contained high concentrations and the maximum occurred at the depth range from 20 to 50 m. The DO concentration decreased rapidly when the depth was deeper than 200 m and reached the minimum at the depth range from 500 to 1000 m, and then increased slowly with the depth increasing but still kept at a low level. On the shelf, the DO concentration ranged from 6.53 to 16.63 mg/L with a mean value of 10.75 mg/L, and showed a characteristic of decreasing from north to south. The DO concentration was higher in the area between the Bering Sea and Lawrence Island and was lower in the southeast and southwest of Lawrence Island at the latitude of 62°N. The formation of maximum DO concentration was concerned with phytoplankton photosynthesis and formation of the themocline. To the south of Sta. B07 in the Bering Sea basin, the oxygen produced by photosynthesis permeated to the deeper water and the themocline made it difficult to exchange vertically, and to the north of Sta. B07, the maximum DO concen- tration occurred above the themocline due to phytoplankton activities. On the shelf, the oxygen produced by phytoplankton photosynthesis gathered at the bottom of the thermocline and formed the DO maximum concentration. In the Bering Sea basin, the DO and salinity showed a weak negative correlation （r=0.40） when the salinity was lower than 33.1, a significant negative correlation （r=-0.92） when the salinity ranged from 33.1 to 33.7, and an irregular reversed parabola （r=0.95） when the salinity was greater than 33.7. Key words： Bering Sea, dissolved oxygen, maximum concentration, stratification, chlorophyll a

Paleoenvironmental implications of Holocene long-chain n-alkanes on the northern Bering Sea Slope

The records of high-resolution terrestrial biological markers （biomarkers） from Core B2-9 from the northern Bering Sea Slope over the last 9.6 ka BP were presented in the study. Variations in input of terrestrial long-chain n-alkanes （referred to as n-alkanes） and vegetation structure in their source regions were investigated. The results show that the nCz7 is the main carbon peak and has the greatest contribution rate of the total n-alkane content; this might be related to the abundance of woody plants and their spatial distribution in the source region, nC23 is another n-alkane having a relatively high content; this was mainly derived from submerged plants widespread along the coastal areas in the northern hemisphere. Total n-alkane content dropped quickly at ca. 7.8 ka BP, ca. 6.7 ka BP and ca. 5.4 ka BP, and was followed by four relatively stable stages mostly controlled by sea-level rise, climate change and vegetation distribution in the source region. Variation in carbon preference index （CPI） indicates that the n-alkanes primarily originated from higher land plants, and the average chain length （ACL） and nCa1/nC27 ratio reveal the relatively stable presence of woody/herbaceous plants during the Holocene, and dominate woody plants in most of the time. Simultaneous variation in total n-alkane content, nC27 content and its contribution, CPI, ACL and nC31/nC27 ratio over several short periods suggest that the growth rate of the woody plant n-alkane contribution was lower than that of herbaceous plants and fossil n-alkanes under the particular climatic conditions of the source region.

Differences in nitrous oxide distribution patterns between the Bering Sea basin and Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean

Nitrous oxide （N2O） distribution patterns in the Bering Sea basin （BSB） and Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean （ISSO） were described and compared. In both sites, the waters were divided into four layers： surface layer, subsurface layer, N2O maximum layer, and deep water. Simulations were made to find out the most important factors that regulate the N2O distribution patterns in different layers of both sites. The results showed that in the surface water, N2O was more understaturated in the ISSO than the BSB. This phenom- enon in the surface water of ISSO may result from ice melt water intrusion and northeastward transport of the Antarctic surface water. Results of the rough estimation of air-sea fluxes during the expedition were （-0.34±0.07）-（-0.64±0.13） μmol/（m2·d） and （-1.47±0.42）-（-1.77±0.51） μmol/（m-2·d） for the BSB and the ISSO, respectively. Strongly stratified surface layer and temperature minimum layer restricted exchange across the thermocline. The N2O maximum existed in higher concentration and deeper in the BSB than the ISSO, but their contribution to the upper layer by eddy diffusions was negligible. In deep waters, a concentration difference of 5 nmol/L N2O between these two sites was found, which suggested that N2O production occurred during thermohaline circulation. N2O may be a useful tracer to study important large-scale hydrographic processes.

Distributions and air-sea fluxes of CO_2 in the summer Bering Sea

The 3rd Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition （CHINARE-Arctic III） was carried out from July to September in 2008. The partial pressure of CO2 （pCO2） in the atmosphere and in surface seawater were determined in the Bering Sea during luly 11-27, 2008, and a large number of seawater samples were taken for total alkalinity （TA） and total dissolved inorganic carbon （DIC） analysis. The distributions of CO2 parameters in the Bering Sea and their controlling factors were discussed. The pCO2 values in surface seawater presented a drastic variation from 148 to 563 laatm （1 μatm = 1.013 25× 10-1Pa）. The lowest pCOz values were observed near the Bering Sea shelf break while the highest pCO2 existed at the western Bering Strait. The Bering Sea generally acts as a net sink for atmospheric CO2 in summer. The air-sea CO2 fluxes in the Bering Sea shelf, slope, and basin were estimated at -9.4, -16.3, and -5.1 mmol/（m2.d）, respectively. The annual uptake of CO2 was about 34 Tg C in the Bering Sea.

Spatial variation in grain-size population of surface sediments from northern Bering Sea and western Arctic Ocean: Implications for provenance and depositional mechanisms

In general,sediments in nature comprise populations of various diameters.Accurate information regarding the sources and depositional mechanisms of the populations can be obtained through their temporal and spatial comparisons.In this study,the grain size distribution of surface sediments from the Bering Sea and western Arctic Ocean were fitted and partitioned into populations using a log-normal distribution function.The spatial variations in the populations indicate differences in their sources and deposition mechanisms.The sediments on most of the Bering Sea Shelf originated from the Yukon River,and were transported westward by waves and currents.However,the presence of a coarser population outside Anadyr Bay was the result of Anadyr River transport.Additionally,a northward transport trend of fine suspended particles was observed on the west side of the Bering Sea Shelf.The sediments in Hope Valley in the south Chukchi Sea also originated from the Yukon River.The coarser population on the central Chukchi Sea Shelf originated from coast of Alaska to the east,not the Yukon River,and was transported by sea ice and bottom brine water.The populations of sediments from the Chukchi Basin and the base of the Chukchi Sea Slope are the result of sea ice and eddy action.Surface sediments from the western high Arctic Ocean predominantly comprised five populations,and two unique populations with mode diameters of 50–90μm and 200–400μm,respectively,were ubiquitous in the glacial and interglacial sediments.It was difficult to distinguish whether these two populations originated from sea ice or icebergs.Therefore,caution should be exercised when using either the>63μm or>250μm fractions in sediments as a proxy index for iceberg and ice sheet variation in the high Arctic Ocean.

The level and bioaccumulation of Cd, Cu, Cr and Zn in benthopelagic species from the Bering Sea

The Bering Sea is an area of high biological productivity, with large populations of sea-birds, demersal and pelagic fishes, so it seemed desirable to assess the bioaccumulation of trace metals in the marine organisms from this area. However, few data on trace metal concentrations are available for the benthopelagic organisms from the Bering Sea till now. Ten specimens of benthos （including 120 biological samples） were collected in the western Bering Sea in August 2008 during the 3rd Chinese National Arctic Research Expeditions, and the concentration of Cd, Cu, Cr and Zn determined using atomic absorption spectrometry. Zn, Cr and Cd concentrations in muscle tissues of the crab species were much higher than those from fish and cephalopod species, and the highest concentration of Cu was observed in the muscle tissues of Cylichna nucleoli. The results showed a similar hierarchy for Zn, Cr, Cd and Cu concentrations among different tissues as follows： hepatopancreas〉muscle tissue〉gonad. Bioconcentration factors indicated that benthic organisms had high accumulation abilities for Zn and Cu.