Determination of seasonal development and community composition of sympagic meiofauna in Van Mijenfjorden; RiS ID 10641

Sea ice is a vital component of the Arctic ecosystem, organisms of all size classes dependent on it as a habitat, feeding, breeding and nursery ground. The microscopic organisms that inhabit the brine channels in the interior of the ice are known as sympagic (ice-associated) meiofauna (> 20 um). Allochthonous (not indigenous) sympagic meiofauna originate from the pelagic and benthic realm and inhabit first-year ice to feed and fuel growth and development, as well as take refuge from predators. Most studies of these communities have focused on perennial ice, with the exception of a few along the Alaskan coastline. Thus, my studies on the faunal assemblages inhabiting seasonal sea ice, in the European Arctic, are urgently needed in order to assess the importance of sea ice as a nursery ground in coastal marine Arctic ecosystems, especially with the changing sea ice conditions due to climate change. This project aims to establish the seasonal development and community composition of sympagic (ice-associated) meiofauna in Svalbard, and furthermore, to determine the importance of seasonal sea ice as a nursery ground to pelagic and benthic organisms (no such studies exist for the European Arctic). This will be done by sampling ice cores for sympagic meiofauna and metadata such as ice algal biomass, ice temperature, brine and bulk salinity throughout spring and early summer, and by sampling along a transect from a river delta to the deeper parts of the fjord.