Petryashov V.V., Vassilenko S.V., Voronkov A.Yu., Sirenko B.I., Smirnov A.V., Smirnov I.S. 2013. Biogeographical analysis of the Chukchi Sea and adjacent waters based on fauna of some macrobenthos taxa // Invertebrate Zoology. Vol.10. No.1: 49–68 [in English].

Zoological Institute RAS, Universitetskaya nab., 1, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia, e-mail: malacostraca@zin.ru

doi: 10.15298/invertzool.10.1.03

KEY WORDS: biogeography, the Chukchi Sea, macrobenthos.

ABSTRACT. A biogeographical analysis was made on the distribution data of 347 species from the Crustacea (Malacostraca); Mollusca (Polyplacophora, Gastropoda and Bivalvia) and Echinodermata (Holothuroidea, Echinoidea, Asteroidea and Ophiuroidea in the northern Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea and eastern East Siberian Sea at 0–150 m depth. The hydrological regime, primarily the distribution of waters of different origins, defined the distribution of  macrobenthos species of 19 different biogeographical groups. Boreal and subtropical-boreal species mostly inhabited the southern part of the Chukchi Sea. 38.3–42.3%  of the species occurred from the Central Banks to the Herald canyon and off Alaska from Cape Hope to Point Barrow. In these regions the share of Arctic and Atlantic boreal-Arctic species was only 1.7–4.6%. In the remaining regions the share of boreal and subtropical-boreal species diminished to 23.1–19.1%, but the share  of Arctic and Atlantic boreal-Arctic species increased to 10.9–18.0% (20.3% for the latter species in adjacent Arctic waters). For these taxa, the boundary between the Pacific and Arctic faunas in the Chukchi Sea passes from the Asian Cape Serdse Kamen northward to the Herald Canyon and then eastward to Point Barrow.

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