Scleractinian Corals of the Arctic and High Latitudes of the North Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

Only two species of scleractinian corals were found in the high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean west of the Barents Sea: Lophelia pertusa (Linné, 1758) and Flabellum macandrewi Gray, 1849. The first species has a cosmopolitan distribution; the second inhabits the Atlantic Ocean only. An analysis of the hydrodynamic environment in which these species exist has led us to conclude that the species L. pertusa preferring solid sediments is favored by increased water hydrodynamics. Fl. macandrewi, which lives on loose sediments, is also exposed to powerful water flows, which cause instability and the mobility of sandy or finely gravel sediments on the bottom, breaking the fragile skeletons of these corals. However, they adapt to such living conditions due to their extraordinary ability to regenerate. We argue that the presence of coral polyps of this species can be a marker of highly dynamic waters. Scleractinian corals are completely absent in the central parts of the Arctic Ocean, which is explained by the geological history of this region, possibly affected by water desalination, fluctuations in water salinity, and sharp changes in the intensity of phytoplankton development.