A comprehensive bibliography, updated checklist, and distribution patterns of Rhodophyta from the Barents Sea (the Arctic Ocean)

Abstract

Abstract A lot of data on the flora of the Barents Sea are scattered in Russian publications and thus are largely inaccessible to many researchers. The study aims to compile a checklist and to verify the species composition of the Rhodophyta of the Barents Sea. The checklist is based on a comprehensive bibliographic study referring to a wide range of data on the species distribution, from the oldest to the most recent, indispensable for analyzing the temporal variability of the Barents Sea flora. A careful revision allows the report of 82 species of Rhodophyta, whereas 36 species have been excluded as belonging to doubtful records or misidentifications. The distribution of seven species in the Barents Sea is clarified. Seventeen species are widespread in the Barents Sea; 11 species are distributed locally. An extensive bibliography and data on the presence of the specimens in the herbarium of the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences are provided.