Polish Polar Research

New information about presence and features of some Lecanora species as well as their ecology and distribution in Antarctica are provided. Lecanora dispersa (Pers.) Sommerf. is confirmed to occur in the Antarctic region; L. sverdrupiana Řvst. is recorded for the first time from maritime Antarctica; L. torrida Vain. is reported as new for that Antarctic area and for the southern hemisphere. An attempt to summarize the present state of knowledge for the genus Lecanora in the Antarctic region is made. Several species, which require more in depth studies, are briefly discussed and an up-to-date list of species occurring in Antarctica is included.

Four Ostracoda species belonging to one family, Halocyprididae, were found in plankton material collected from the Scotia Sea and off the King George Island (the Antarctic) during the austral summer 1988/1989. Alacia belgicae, A. hettacra and Metaconchoecia isocheira were dominant making up to nearly 99% of all Ostracoda. The horizontal distribution was modified by variability of hydrological conditions. The higher concentrations of chlorophyll a and phytoplankton, which were found in the mid- and eastern parts of the Scotia Sea, coincided with the highest densities of Ostracoda. The influence of ice pack presence in the Scotia Sea upon the higher abundance of Ostracoda in the period investigated in comparison with the earlier studies was distinctive. A vertical distribution analysis confirmed that the three above-mentioned endemic species were most abundant in the mesopelagial. The population structures of A. belgicae, A. hettacra, and M. isocheira were analysed. The presence of the youngest stage of A. belgicae in the Scotia Sea confirmed the beginning of reproduction of this species at that time. The vertical distribution patterns of A. hettacra and M. isocheira populations were similar, although their age structures in comparison with A. belgicae differ significantly. This was consistent with their higher “mean population stage” values.

Southern elephant male seals (Mirounga leonina Linnaeus, 1758) were studied at King George Island (62°14´S, 58°40´W) from September to December 1999. The first males came ashore at the beginning of September. Twenty-five adults were immobilized, hot iron branded, and measured. Thirteen out of the 25 marked males spent an average of 66 (+/-8) days on land. Early arrival was positively correlated with the time spent ashore (r = 0.88, P < 0.05). Nine harems were formed in the study area. At the maximum haul-out of females (28 October) mean harem size was 32ą42 females (range 3–107). During the course of harem development, 10 changes in male harem dominance were observed. These changes were more frequent during the early (1–20 October, n = 6) than during the mid (21 October – 10 November, n = 2) and late (11–29 November, n = 2) periods of harem development. Overall, there were 14 dominant males; five of these in two different harems and nine in one harem. Of the 25 marked males, 44% were resighted in the following breeding or moulting season, and 16% seemed to improve their potential breeding success.

Several conclusions and recommendations concerning sediment trap geometry, the technique of their deployment and interpretation of measurements results are described in this paper. Only cylindrical sediment traps are able to cope with the diverse and dynamic environment of glaciated fjords. The relation between different trap parameters shows the optimal proportion of cylinder diameter as being between 6 and 10 cm and ratio length/diameter not less than 7/1. During the peak of the melting season in Kongsfjorden (Spitsbergen) the rate of sedimentation of total matter reaches over 900 g m–2 d–1 and the velocity of brackish water current can reach 80 cm s–1 on the surface. Owing to the high productivity of Arctic fiords and large concentration of suspended mineral matter it is possible to collect of large samples in a short time, therefore prevention of sediment traps by swimmers is not necessary.

During the spring of 1998 sympagic algae and meiofauna were studied in Ross Bay on the western coast of the Kane Basin between Ellesmere Island and Pim Island (Canada). Ice samples were collected by ice coring and the lowermost 2 cm sections were analysed. The sea-ice flora was composed of 59 taxa and was dominated by Nitzschia frigida, Navicula pelagica, Fragilariopsis oceanica and unidentified flagellates (over 60% of total number). Abundance of algae ranged from 1×109 to 3×109 cells per square meter. Sea-ice meiofauna was composed of Nematoda and Harpacticoida and was strongly dominated by nematodes (99.76%). Total sympagic meiofauna abundance ranged from 37.5×103 to 146.1×103 ind. and biomass from 2.88 to 8.83 mg C per m2. There was no clearly marked patchiness in the horizontal distribution of sympagic algae and meiofauna.

This article presents an inventory of the marine benthic harpacticoids (Crustacea, Copepoda) from the area of Svalbard (including Bear Island). Information concetning the occurrence of 90 taxa in the shallow littoral zone of Svalbard is presented based on own samples as well as published and unpublished sources. Two species and 7 genera are reported for the first time from the investigated area.

Bryozoans were collected in Kongsfjorden (79°N and 12°E) in the summer seasons of 1997, 1998, and 1999. In the total of 44 grab, dredge, and SCUBA diving samples 143 taxa were determined: 123 species, 17 to the generic and 3 to the family level. In the investigated material were 24% Arctic species and 66% boreal-Arctic species. This suggests a rather Arctic nature of the fjord. A few boreal species indicate the influence of warm water masses (West Spitsbergen Current). The majority of species (76%) have an encrusting life form. There were 5 species with a frequency of occurrence higher than 20%. These are Electra crustulenta var. arctica (31.82%); Cylindroporella tubulosa (27.27%); Tegella arctica (22.73%); Tegella armifera (20.45%); and Hippothoa divaricata var. arctica (20.45%). Among all identified species 23 were recorded for the first time in the area of Svalbard archipelago. Most (79%) of newly noted species have Arctic distributions. The lower sampling effort of previous researchers most likely accounts for the present enrichment of the list of Bryozoa of Kongsfjorden.