Distribution of marine, benthic macro-organisms at Svalbard ...

Number of registrations
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
22
2.5
Zones
Fig. 7. Number of registrations (records) in each of the zones.
It is interesting to compare the number of sampled localities (Fig. 6) with the number of
species in each of the zones (Fig. 8). For example, Isfjorden does not contain the highest
number of recorded species, despite the high sampling frequency.
Most species (865 spp.) were recorded in zone 0, which is the “undefined Svalbard” zone
(Fig. 8). In zone 3.1, which is located on the eastern side of Svalbard, we recorded 696 spp.
(Fig. 8). However, only 524 species were recorded in zone 1.4 (Isfjorden), despite the fact
that Isfjorden has more than twice as many investigated stations as zone 3.1.
Number of species
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
0
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
Zones
Fig. 8. Number of species in the different zones
A total of 1871 species were recorded within the area of investigation (Appendix 3). There
was only limited information available regarding 384 of these taxa. These are recorded as
“Zone 0 - found at Svalbard”. The remaining species can at least be placed in one of the 19
specified zones (Fig. 2)
Three species have been recorded in all 19 zones. These are the bivalve Hiatella arctica, the
brittle star Ophiopholis aculeata and the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis.
2.6
2.6
2.7
2.7
2.8
2.8
2.9
2.9
3.1
3.1
4.1
4.1
4.2
4.2
5
5
6
6