The terrestrial and freshwater invertebrate biodiversity of the archipelagoes of the Barents Sea, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya

• Published in: Soil Biology and Biochemistry
• Main Authors: Coulson, Steve J., Convey, P., Aakra, Kjetil, Aarvik, Leif, Avila-Jimenez, M. L., Babenko, A., Biersma, Elise M., Bostrom, Sven, Brittain, J. E., Carlsson, A. M., Christoffersen, K., de Smet, Willem H., Ekrem, Torbjorn, Fjellberg, A., Fuereder, Leopold, Gustafsson, D., Gwiazdowicz, D. J., Hansen, L. O., Holmstrup, M., Hullé, Maurice, Kaczmarek, L., Kolicka, Malgorzata, Kuklinr, V., Lakka, Hanna-Kaisa, Lebedeva, N., Makarova, O., Maraldo, K., Melekhina, E., Odegaard, Frode, Pilskog, Hanne E., Simon, Jean-Christophe, Sohlenius, Bjorn, Solhoy, T., Soli, Geir, Stur, Elisabeth, Tanasevitch, A., Taskaeva, A., Velle, Gaute, Zawierucha, K., Zmudczynska-Skarbek, K.
• Other Authors: Department of Arctic Biology, The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Midt Troms Museum, Natural History Museum, Department of Zoology, Natural History Museum Oslo, University of Oslo (UiO)-University of Oslo (UiO), Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow (RAS), Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM), Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Polar Science Center Copenhagen, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH), Freshwater Biological Laboratory, ECOBE Department of Biology, University of Antwerp (UA), Department of Natural History, Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim (NTNU), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)-Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Mageroveien 168, Faculty for Biology, Leopold Franzens Universität Innsbruck - University of Innsbruck, Department of Biology, University of Utah, Department of Forest Protection, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University Aarhus, Institut de Génétique, Environnement et Protection des Plantes (IGEPP), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Rennes (UR)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu = Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (UAM), Murmansk Marine Biological Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences, Azov Branch Kola Scientific Centre, Southern Scientific Centre, Department of Agroecology, Institute of Biology of Komi Scientific Centre of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), EECRG, Institute for Biology, University of Bergen (UiB), NTNU University Museum Trondheim, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)-Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)-Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim (NTNU), Centre for Forest Ecology and Production, Uni Research Environment, Uni Research Ltd, Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: Isolation; Colonization; Biodiversity; Frans Josef Land; Novaja Zemlja; cold tolerance; Spitzbergen; simulated climate-change; high arctic aphid; sub-antarctic island; troll thermal spring; last glacial maximum; moss-turf habitat; spitsbergen svalbard; population-dynamic; rangifer-tarandus-platyrhynchus; High Arctic; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; Antarctic; Arctic; Barents Sea; Franz Josef Land; Svalbard; Troll; Antarc*; Climate change; Novaya Zemlya; Rangifer tarandus; Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01208756; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2013.10.006

International audience Arctic terrestrial ecosystems are generally considered to be species poor, fragile and often isolated. Nonetheless, their intricate complexity, especially that of the invertebrate component, is beginning to emerge. Attention has become focused on the Arctic both due to the importance of this rapidly changing region for the Earth and also the inherent interest of an extreme and unique environment. The three archipelagoes considered here, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, delineate the Barents Sea to the west, north and east. This is a region of convergence for Palearctic and Nearctic faunas re-colonising the Arctic following the retreat of the ice after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Despite the harsh Arctic environment and the short period since deglaciation, the archipelagoes of the Barents Sea are inhabited by diverse invertebrate communities. But there is an obvious imbalance in our knowledge of many taxa of each archipelago, and in our knowledge of many taxa. Research effort in Svalbard is increasing rapidly while there are still few reports, particularly in the western literature, from Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya. Nevertheless, there appears to be a surprising degree of dissimilarity between the invertebrate faunas, possibly reflecting colonization history. We provide a baseline synthesis of the terrestrial and freshwater invertebrate fauna of the Barents Sea archipelagoes, highlight the taxa present, the characteristic elements of fauna and the complexity of their biogeography. In doing so, we provide a background from which to assess responses to environmental change for a region under increasing international attention from scientific, industrial and political communities as well as non-governmental organizations and the general public.