LONG-TERM BENTHIC POPULATION-CHANGES (1920-1930S-PRESENT) IN THE PARENTS AND KARA SEAS

Bottom sediment was analysed, via grab, trawl and underwater photograp hy in 1991-1992 in the Barents, White, Kara, Norwegian and Greenland S eas, and the large scale features of macrobenthos distribution are des cribed, The maps of alpha-diversity, biomass and trophic zone distribu tion on the investigated shelf are presented. Statistical assessment o f the bottom community structure changes during the last 60-70 years f or the Barents Sea area is presented. It is shown that on regional and transregional levels the researched communities are of natural undist urbed character and that the revealed changes may be both the result o f natural processes or sampling errors, Local disturbances of benthos composition and structure, supposedly caused by man, are found to be r are not far from the Novaya Zemlya and Murman coasts. (C) 1997 Elsevie r Science Ltd. All rights reserved.