Benthic fauna in the Pechora Sea (EUROBIS)

The Kara Strait area showed some spatial variation in faunal characteristics, but generally contained high numbers of surface deposit feeding Polychaeta and Crustacea, as well as encrusting suspensivores on stones. The stations sampled between Kolguyev and the Pechora Bay contained large amounts of macrofaunal Foraminifera and detritivorous Polychaeta, while the fauna sampled in the Pechora Bay was typical of northern, low salinity environments.

Canonical correspondence analyses indicate that water depth and sediment type play a major role in structuring the benthic fauna. The distribution of community types described in this investigation largely follow those outlined in previous Russian investigations, despite the use of different analytical strategies. This investigation provides the background for an intercomparison of methodologies in faunal analyses.

Size reference: 1300 records [Source: The information provided in the summary was extracted from the MarBEF Data System at "marbef.org/data/eurobisproviders.php"]