Scientific publications

The spatial and species structure of meio- and macrobenthos communities of the Kislaya Bay (Gulf of Kandalaksha, White Sea) lagoon ecosystem was analysed. A total of 32 species of benthic organisms (including 11 species of invertebrate larvae) and 9 species of seagrasses and algae were found. Eumeiobenthos groups were identified to the level of large taxa (nematodes, harpacticoids, ostracods, turbellaria). The highest total biomass of macrobenthos organisms was mainly observed in the lower horizon of the littoral zone and at the exit from the lagoon (high biomass of Mytilus edulis populations). For meiobenthos biomass was the highest in the middle and upper littoral horizons and in the bayhead. This may indicate a complementary distribution of meio- and macrobenthos: the role of meiofauna grew where macrobenthos development was somewhat inhibited. An analysis of the similarity of meio- and macrobenthos of different habitats revealed differences in the species structure of communities between the three littoral horizons – upper, middle, and lower. Communities of the lower and middle horizons of the littoral zone exhibited a greater similarity of the species structure than communities of the upper horizon. The differences in the structural characteristics of the community lengthwise – with increasing water salinity, are less pronounced (especially when compared with the corresponding structural changes in meio- and macrobenthos in the Chyornaya River estuary). This is probably due to the milder salinity conditions in the lagoon versus the Chyornaya River estuary, lower impact of this factor on the distribution of aquatic organisms and, accordingly, smaller change in the species structure of the community lengthwise – from the bayhead towards the sea.