Vertical distribution of benthic foraminifers in the Arctic Ocean

Cores taken by a multiple corer were raised from 50 stations with water depths between 94 and 4427 m, from areas with moderate primary production values to areas that are among the least productive ones in the world.

We believe, that in the Arctic Ocean the vertical distribution of living foraminifers is determined by the restricted availability of food. Live foraminiferal faunas are dominated by potentially infaunal species or epifaunal species. Species confined to the infaunal microhabitat are absent in Arctic sediments that we examined, and predominantly infaunal living species are nowhere dominant.