Benthic scavengers collected by baited traps in the high Arctic

Abstract

Baited traps were deployed in the coastal areas of Svalbard (0–175 m), Franz Josef Land (15 and 20 m), Northeast Greenland (6 and 20 m) and Ellesmere Island (2–145 m). The samples were dominated by Lysianassidae (Amphipoda). In the most extensively sampled locality (Hornsund, Svalbard), differences between the necrophagic fauna of the outer and inner basins were observed. Clear depth separations of closely related species of the Anonyx and Onisimus genera were found between 0 and 175 m in Hornsund. Anonyx nugax and Onisimus edwardsi were the only species found in all of the examined localities.