Benthic Harpacticoida (Crustacea, Copepoda) from ... - Luciopesce.net

vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 185–191, 2002 

Benthic Harpacticoida (Crustacea, Copepoda) 

from the Svalbard archipelago 

Lech KOTWICKI 

Instytut Ekologii, Polska Akademia Nauk, 

Dziekanów Leśny, ul. Konopnickiej 1, 05−092 Łomianki, Poland 

< lechk@iopan.gda.pl> 

ABSTRACT: This article presents an inventory of the marine benthic harpacticoids 

(Crustacea, Copepoda) from the area of Svalbard (including Bear Island). Information 

concetning the occurrence of 90 taxa in the shallow littoral zone of Svalbard is presented 

based on own samples as well as published and unpublished sources. Two species and 7 

genera are reported for the first time from the investigated area. 

Key words: Harpacticoida, Svalbard. 

Introduction 

In spite of the increasing interest in the role of biodiversity in the functioning of 

marine ecosystems, taxonomic studies of fauna are still unsatisfactory. Informa− 

tion regarding the species composition of Svalbard littoral meiofauna in general, 

and of Harpacticoida in particular, is very limited. 

The order Harpacticoida of the class Copepoda order contains over 3000 spe− 

cies – most of which are free−living benthic organisms (Hick and Coull 1983). In 

marine sediments they are usually the second most abundant meiofaunal taxon af− 

ter nematodes, but they are often the dominant taxon in marine algae. They are 

found in all salinity regimes, from the supralittoral to the abyssal zone, and in all 

temperatures from polar to tropical zones. Harpacticoids are known as organisms 

which are not tolerant to anaerobic conditions. In the sea they are associated with 

sessile epibenthic macrofauna and macrophytes, where they can make up a large 

part of the phytal meiofauna (Moore 1973). 

Svalbard marine meiobentos have been investigated, but most of the published 

papers yield information only about the abundance and biomass of higher taxa 

(Szymelfenig et al. 1995, Węsławski et al. 1997, 1999; Węsławski and Szymel− 

fenig 1999, Soltwedel et al. 2000). Meiobenthos from single localities have been 

Pol. Polar Res. 23 (2): 185–191, 2002

186 Lech Kotwicki 

0 o VEST SPITSBERGEN 

10 o 

20 o 30 o 40 o 

E 

80 o 

Kongsfjorden 

78 o 

Isfjorden 

Sassenfjorden 

Adventfjorden 

Longyearbyen 

EDGEOYA 

Nottinghambukta 

Hornsund 

76 o 

SVALBARD 

0 100 km 

o 

74 N 

Bjornoya 

Fig. 1. Location of sampling sites. 

described in detail, e.g. by Radziejewska and Stankowska−Radziun (1979) and 

Kendall et al. (1997). The first observations on the harpacticoids from the Arctic 

seas were published by Scott and Scott (1901), and Lang (1936). An important de− 

scriptions of the benthic littoral harpacticoids from Svalbard was published by 

Mielke (1974). There are only a few papers giving detailed information on the spe− 

cies’ level (Gee and Huys 1994, Gulliksen et al. 1999). 

The aim of this article is to present a synopsis of the occurrence of Harpacti− 

coida in the littoral of Svalbard. The data is based on the author’s own unpublished 

results, supplemented with existing information: from both published and unpub− 

lished sources. 

Study area 

The shallow littoral zone of the Svalbard archipelago between 74° – 81° N and 

10° – 30° E (Fig. 1) was studied. The littoral zone of Svalbard is harsh but by no

Benthic Harpacticoida from the Svalbard 187 

means barren (Węsławski et al. 1993, 1997; Szymelfenig et al. 1995). Sea ice cov− 

ers almost the whole coast during winter time and disappears only on the west coast 

in the summer due to the influence of warm Atlantic water (Coachman and 

Aagaard 1974). Most shores are influenced by melt water and sediment from gla− 

ciers. Bjornoa is an island, isolated from the rest of archipelago, situated at 74°N 

and 17°E. It’s a rocky pear−shaped island some 20 km in diameter, surrounded by 

extensive shallows below 100 m depth. 

The samples of Mielke (1974) were collected from the littoral zone of the 

Longyearbyen (Isfjorden) and Ny Alesund (Kongsfjorden) regions. In July 1990 

an ecological study of latitudinal gradients in the structure of sub−littoral meio− 

benthos was conducted in Sassenfjord by Gee and Huys (1994). In the period 

1999–2001 meiofauna samples were collected by the author in Kongsfjorden, 

Hornsund, and Bjornoya. 

Sampling 

Meiofauna was sampled on a sandy beach, in the intertidal and shallow littoral 

– between 2 and 30 meters depth – by means of a steel tube of 2 cm diameter, in− 

serted into the sediment down to a depth of 10 cm and preserved in a 4% buffered 

formaldehyde and seawater solution. The extraction of the meiofauna from the 

sediment was done according to the standard method of decantation (Pfanekuche 

and Thiel 1988). Organisms were washed on 0.038 mm sieves and stained with 

Bengal Rose. 

The taxonomy of harpacticoid copepods is still unresolved. Until now the 

monograph by Lang (1948) remains the most important identification key. Other 

useful works are the monographs of Sars (1911, 1921), Smirnov (1946), Lang 

(1965), Huys et al. (1996), and a catalogue of the new marine harpacticoid 

copepods by Bodin (1997). 

Results and discussion 

Until the present time 34 species and 51 genera of Harpacticoida have been re− 

corded from the Svalbard archipelago (Table 1). A comparison of the species list 

from Mielke (1974), Gee and Huys (1994 and unpublished data), Gulliksen et al. 

(1999) and the author’s own samples reveals considerable differences. The highest 

number of taxa (49) was recorded by Gee and Huys (1994 and unpublished data) in 

the Sassenfjord region. In Kongsfjorden and Isfjorden Mielke (1974) identified 26 

species of Harpacticoida. In the entire area of study Gulliksen et al. (1999) reported 

only 3 species of Harpacticoida. The author’s material yielded a total of 21 taxa, in− 

cluding 2 species and 7 genera reported from the region for the first time.


Table 1 

List of harpacticoid taxa from Svalbard archipelago, expected number of species in brack− 

ets. Data from: A – Mielke (1974), B – Gee and Huys (1994) and unpublished data, 

C – Gulliksen et al. (1999), D – own data. 

Family Taxon A B C D 

Longipediidae Longipedia sp. + 

Ectinosomatidae Ectinosoma melaniceps Boeck, 1865 + 

Ectinosoma sp. (1) + 

Halectinosoma sp. (5) + + 

Bradya sp. (3) + + 

Parabradya sp. (2) + 

Microsetella sp. + 

Sigmatidium parvulum Mielke, 1974 + 

Pseudobradya sp. (2) + 

Tachididae Tachidius discipes Giesbrecht, 1881 + + 

Tachidius incisipes Klie, 1913 + 

Tachidius sp. + 

Harpacticidae Harpacticus chelifer (O.F. Müller, 1776) + 

Harpacticus sp. + 

Tisbidae Tisbe furcata (Baird, 1837) + 

Scutellidium hippolytes (Kroyer, 1863) + 

Scutellidium sp. (1) + + 

Zosime sp. (1) + 

Tachidiella sp. (1) + 

Idyanthedilatata Sars, 1905 + 

Idellopsis sp. (1) + 

Tegasidae Tegastes sp. + 

Thalestridae Parathalestris sp. (1) + 

Dactylopodia vulgaris Sars, 1905 + 

Dactylopedia longyearbyensis (Mielke, 1974) + 

Idomene sp. (1) + 

Dactylopodella sp. (1) + 

Parastenheliidae Parastenhelia spinosa (Fisher, 1860) + 

Diosaccidae Stenhelia (St.) sp. (1) + + 

Stenhelia (D) sp. (1) + + 

Amphiascus minutus (Claus, 1863) + 

Amphiascus tenuiremis (Brady et Robertson, 1875) + 

Amonardia arctica (T. Scott, 1898) + 

Paramphiascopsis sp. (1) + 

Typhlamphiascus lammelifer (Sars) capensis (f) Kunz, 1975 + 

Typhlamphiascus sp. (2) + 

Amphiascoides nanus (Sars, 1906) + 

Amphiascoides sp. (1) + 

Paramphiascella sp. (1) + 

Haloschizopera sp. (1) + 

Schizopera ornata Noodt et Parasjoki, 1953 + 

Schizopera meridionalis Petkowski, 1954 +


Table 1 – continued. 

Family Taxon A B C D 

Ameridae Amerira longipes Boeck, 1864 + 

Ameira parvula (Claus, 1866) + 

Ameira sp. + + 

Pseudoameira sp. + 

Paramesochridae Paramesochra sp. + 

Canthocamptidae Mesochra schmidti Mielke, 1974 + 

Mesochra sp. + + 

Heteropsyllus sp. + 

Mesopsyllus sp. + 

Bathycamptus sp. + 

Cletodidae Cletodes longicaudatus (Boeck, 1872) + 

Cletodes sp. (3) + + 

Monocletodes sp. (1) + 

Stylicletodes sp. (1) + 

Paranannopidae Pseudomesochra sp. (2) + 

Danielssenia quadriseta Gee, 1988 + 

Danielssenia spitsbergensis Gee et Huys, 1994 + 

Psammis kliei Smirnov, 1946 + 

Paradanielssenia kathleenae Gee et Huys, 1994 + 

Paradanielssenia christineae Gee et Huys, 1994 + 

Mucrosenia kendalli Gee et Huys, 1994 + 

Huntemanniidae Nannopus palustris Brady, 1880 + 

Rhizothricidae Rhizothrix sp. + 

Argestidae Eurycletodes similis (T. Scott, 1895) + 

Eurycletodes (E) sp. (1) + 

Eurycletodes (O) sp. (1) + 

Eurycletodes sp. + 

Laophontidae Laophonte thoracica Boeck, 1864 + + 

Heterolaophonte stroemi (Baird, 1834) + + 

Paralaophonte hyperborea (Sars, 1909) + 

Paralaophonte spitsbergensis Mielke, 1974 + 

Total number of taxa 26 49 3 21 

In the temperate zone, the meiofauna community of intertidal sediments typi− 

cally comprised about 30 harpacticoid species, with the majority of individuals be− 

longing to three or five dominant species (Huys et al. 1996). The composition of 

harpacticoid fauna of the Svalbard archipelago is very similar to that of the temper− 

ate zone. Also the distribution of Harpacticoida of other Arctic localities does not 

differ significantly from the results presented in this article (Sars 1911, Por 1965). 

In conclusion it can be said that the harpacticoid fauna of the Svalbard archipelago 

is not “impoverished” when compared to other localities. The abundance of 

harpacticoids decreases in relation to depth but the number of species increases,


typically 60–70 species inhabit the continental shelf seas and the individuals are 

spread more evenly among the species (Huys et al. 1996). 

We may expect a much higher number of taxa to be discovered after closer ex− 

amination and more extensive sampling. 

Acknowledgements. — I would like to thank Dr. Mike Gee and Dr. Rony Huys for their 

scientific advice and permission to use their unpublished data. The assistance in Harpacticoida 

taxonomy by Dr. Frank Fiers from the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences (Brussels) 

and Dr. Marleen De Troch from University of Gent, Department of Marine Biology, is grate− 

fully acknowledged. 

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Received March 4, 2002 

Accepted June 6, 2002

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