Littoral Communities of Varneka Bay, Yugorsky Shar Strait, Barents Sea

Abstract— Bottom communities have been studied for the first time along the coast of Varneka Bay, Yugorsky Shar Strait, off the coast of Vaigach Island. The benthos biodiversity is quite poor, the benthic communities are distributed unevenly. The structure of rocky littoral phytocenoses is predetermined by the dominant species Fucus distichus, associated with littoral zoocenoses of mollusks Littorina saxatilis, Mytilus edulis, Lacuna pillidula, amphipods Gammarus sp., and barnacles Semibalanus balanoides. The silty–sand littoral at the bay apex is inhabited by the clam Mya arenaria and the green alga Blidingia minima. The biomass of the dominant species Fucus distichus is low and ranges from 1.57 to 2.60 kg/m2, which is associated with the impact of ice cover in winter. Low maximum age of this alga (2–6 years) is also related to the same factor.