Composition of Harpacticoida (Crustacea, Copepoda) of the Laptev Sea in comparison with faunas of adjacent Arctic seas

Abstract

The invertebrate fauna of the Laptev Sea is one of the least investigated in the Arctic. In particular, little is known about the Harpacticoida (Copepoda, Crustacea)—one of the main components of marine meiofauna. Major objectives of our study were (1) to describe harpacticoid composition obtained from three sublittoral stations, (2) to compile the check-list of the Laptev Sea harpacticoids, and (3) to perform a comparative analysis of the Laptev Sea harpacticoid fauna with faunas of other Arctic seas. Of 38 species found in our material, 25 are new for the sea, and four species are likely new to science. A total list for the Laptev Sea includes 76 species from 18 families. Interstitial and phytal forms are poorly represented, due to the rarity of suitable biotopes and/or undersampling. The majority of the provisional endemics were found in the bathyal and abyssal zones of the sea, while widely distributed species, except for the plankton, belong to the fauna of the soft sediments of the littoral zone. Comparative analysis of harpacticoids from the Arctic region (the Laptev, White, Barents, Kara, East Siberian and Beaufort Seas and the Greenland area) shows the considerable distinction between the Eastern (Siberian) and Western sub-regions. Further investigations are necessary to reveal a more detailed pattern in Harpacticoida distribution and to evaluate possible vectors of dispersal and biogeographic relationships in the high Arctic.