Polychaetes (Annelida: Polychaeta) of the Kara Sea

Abstract

As a result of processing materials from the expeditions of the Saint-Petersburg State University in 2012–2013 and the Transarctic expedition of 2019, 131 polychaete taxa were recorded, of which 124 were identified to species. On the basis of data from previous and recent collections, the general list of polychaetes in the Kara Sea was updated; it includes 209 species belonging to 98 genera, 37 families, and 15 orders. The following species are reported for the first time from the sea: Abyssoninoe hibernica (McIntosh, 1903), Ampharete falcata Eliason, 1955, Brada rugosa Hansen, 1882, Microclymene acirrata Arwidsson, 1906; Nephtys pente Rainer, 1984; Ophelina abranchiata Stop-Bowitz, 1948, Scolelepis burkovskii Sikorski, 1994, and Travisia forbesii Johnson, 1840. Polychaetes were found at all stations; the number of species per station ranged from 1 to 28. Shannon’s indices (H'SpA and H'spB) showed that at most stations the diversity of species was high and resistance to stress (DE') was quite satisfactory. Only in a few cases some tension existed in the ecological situation, estimated by the index of difference in evenness and this applies, to an overwhelming degree, to the shallow water stations in the area of the outlet from the Ob and Yenisei bays. New data show a more pronounced Arctic character of the Kara Sea fauna in comparison with the polychaete fauna of neighboring seas. The influence of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans both on the polychaete fauna of the Kara Sea and on the polychaete fauna of the neighboring seas is noticeable and natural, which is confirmed by changes in the proportion of species of Pacific and Atlantic origin. The trophic structure of polychaetes is represented by four main groups; the distribution of trophic groups is closely related to environmental conditions.