Tanaidacea (Crustacea,Malacostraca) of two polar fjords: Kongsfjorden (Arctic) and Admiralty Bay (Antarctic)

The tanaidacean faunas of two polar fjords, Kongsfjorden (Arctic) and Admiralty Bay (Antarctic), were compared. The results show that Tanaidacea in the southern fjord are more diversified than those in the northern one. This difference is especially evident in species richness (12 species vs 3 species, respectively), but is not too significant in terms of diversity. In both polar fjords, the highest densities of tanaids were noted in sites where mud was swept off by the water current or eroded off steep bottom expoing coarser mineral particles used for tube building. The distribution of tanaids is suggested to be based on the joint action of inter alia factors such as the quality of bottom sediments, sedimentation ratio, accessibility of food, predation pressure, behaviour and heterogeneity of habitats.An erratum to this article can be found at