Pelagic occurrences of the ice amphipod Apherusa glacialis throughout the Arctic.

ABSTRACT: Apherusa glacialis is a common, sea ice-associated amphipod found throughout the Arctic Ocean and has long been considered permanently associated with the sea ice habitat. However, pelagic occurrences of A. glacialis have also been reported. It was recently suggested that A. glacialis overwinters at depth within the Atlantic-water inflow near Svalbard, to avoid being exported out of the Arctic Ocean through the Fram Strait. This study collated pelagic occurrence records over a 71-year period and found that A. glacialis was consistently found away from its presumed sea ice habitat on a pan-Arctic scale, in different depths and water masses. In the Svalbard region, A. glacialis was found in Atlantic Water both in winter and summer. Additionally, we analyzed A. glacialis size distributions th

SUBMITTER: Kunisch EH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6994818 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature