Macrobenthic fauna of the Franz Josef Land archipelago

Benthic fauna of the deeper waters (50–320 m) of the Franz Josef Land archipelago sampled in August 1992 using standard western techniques is described and compared with earlier Russian studies of the archipelago. Three faunal assemblages are recognised at depth ranges between 50–150, 150–300, and >300 m depth. Their distributions are related to depth and to different water masses derived from a mixture of Barents Sea water entering from the south at intermediate depths (20–150 m), and Atlantic water from the north below 300 m. The recorded faunal diversity and biomass is as high as or higher than that from comparable Arctic and northern boreal areas. Comparisons are also made with a complimentary Russian survey in the same area using different techniques. The Russian work collected larger organisms most effectively, whereas the present work recorded the smaller taxa more efficiently. Russian surveys provide complementary data to western studies, but care must be taken when comparing studies as they reflect biases in sampling gear and scientific emphasis. These data intercalibrations are important as Russian archives contain a wealth of information that, if used correctly in association with western data sources, will be useful in environmental monitoring studies as human activities increase in the Eurasian Arctic. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.