Microarthropod communities of industrially disturbed or imported soils in the High Arctic; the abandoned coal mining town of Pyramiden, Svalbard

Abstract

The terrestrial environment of the High Arctic consists of a mosaic of habitat types, both natural and anthropogenic. At the abandoned coal mining town of Pyramiden, Svalbard, topsoil was imported from southern European Russia. This, and further industrial disturbance in the town, offers new opportunities for the native invertebrate fauna, but may also introduce alien, potentially invasive, species. Few studies have examined anthropogenic habitats in the High Arctic. But increasing activity, including industry and tourism, requires an understanding of the responses of the Arctic to such pressures. The microarthropod communities observed in the settlement were substantially different from the natural tundra. In the settlement, nine species of mesostigmatid mite occurred (three new records for Svalbard; Dendrolaelaps foveolatus) and two additional not identified to species (Halolaelaps sp., Arctoseius sp.), 26 species of Collembola (12 not seen in the natural tundra close to Pyramiden) and two new records (Thalassaphorura debilis and Desoria tigrina), but only five Oribatida. This is set against 8, 20 and 24 species respectively for Mesostigmata, Oribatida and Collembola from natural tundra in the vicinity. The imported soils remain to be yet fully exploited by the native microarthropod fauna. Taxa disparities may result from differential mortality during collection and shipping of the soil, and subsequent colonisation. While none of the introduced species appear to be invasive, responses to climate change scenarios are difficult to project. Understanding of alien species and the timespans required for colonization by native faunas are of importance for remediation and reclamation projects in polar regions.