Environmental Drivers of an Intertidal Bryozoan Community in the Barents Sea: A Case Study

• Published in: Animals
• Main Authors: Evseeva, Olga Yu., Ishkulova, Tatyana G., Dvoretsky, Alexander G.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI 2022
• Subjects: Article; Arctic; Barents Sea; Kola Peninsula; kola peninsula
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8908841/; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12050552

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Bryozoans are colonial organisms that are usually found attached to solid substrata. They are known to be common components of benthic communities from the littoral zone to deep-sea areas. Despite the long history of bryozoan research in the Barents Sea, intertidal communities of this group are less studied than those at open water sites. This is particularly true for the assessment of the role of environmental factors in diversity and biomass fluctuations of Arctic bryozoan assemblages. We collected bryozoans at two adjoining coastal sites in the southern Barents Sea and detected range extension of one boreal species, which reflects a warming trend and borealization of the benthic fauna in the region. In general, the total bryozoan biomass and diversity were lower than in deep-water sites of the sea. Salinity and temperature were found to be the main predictors of bryozoan species richness and biomass, respectively, with more diverse and abundant assemblages occupying habitats with higher salinity and lower temperature. Our findings are in accordance with a general opinion that benthic communities of the coastal Barents Sea are mainly controlled by temperature regime fluctuations and freshwater runoffs. ABSTRACT: There is a lack of knowledge regarding the modern status of intertidal bryozoan communities in the coastal Barents Sea. Here, we studied species composition, richness, and biomass of bryozoans in Yarnyshnaya and Dalnezelenetskaya Bays, both located in the eastern part of the Kola Peninsula (Barents Sea), in summer. Species composition and biodiversity were consistent with previous research but the record of the ctenostome bryozoan Walkeria uva is the first for the region indicating eastward range expansion of this species associated with climate forcing in the Arctic. Mean biomass was relatively low accounting for 2.25 ± 0.95 g·m(−2). The most common species were Eucratea loricata, Harmeria scutulata, Crisia eburnea, and Cribrilina cryptooecium averaging 96% of the total biomass. ...