Copepod communities off Franz Josef Land (northern Barents Sea) in late summer of 2006 and 2007

Copepods are considered to be the main component of the Arctic marine zooplankton. We examined the copepod distribution and diversity off Franz Josef Land (northern Barents Sea) in August 2006 and 2007. A total of 18 and 14 copepod taxa were identified from the sampling layers (100–0 m or bottom–0 m) in 2006 and in 2007, respectively. There were no significant differences in the total copepod abundance between the years (means ± SE: 118,503 ± 24,115 individuals m⁻² in 2006 vs. 113,932 ± 28,564 individuals m⁻² in 2007). However, the copepod biomass in 2006 (4,518 ± 1,091 mg C m⁻²) exceeded clearly the value in 2007 (1,253 ± 217 mg C m⁻²). The copepod community showed low species richness and diversity in both years (Simpson index D: 0.34 and 0.38, respectively). Biomass of the large and small copepod species strongly decreased from 2006 to 2007. The total abundance of copepods was negatively correlated with water temperature in 2006 and positively correlated with salinity in 2007. The patchiness in copepod distribution was associated with local hydrography and temperature conditions.