On the terrestrial and freshwater invertebrate diversity of the High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard: a revised species inventory and synopsis of the community composition

Stephen J. Coulson, Jesamine Bartlett, Sven Boström, John E. Brittain, Kirsten S. Christoffersen, Peter Convey, Willem H. De Smet, Klára Dózsa-farkas, Torbjørn Ekrem, Arne Fjellberg, Leo Füreder, Mark A.K. Gillespie, Daniel Gustafsson, Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz, Łukasz Kaczmarek, Małgorzata Kolicka, Ronald Laniecki, Tirza M. Moerman, Stanisław Seniczak, Anna SeniczakJean-christophe Simon, Elisabeth Stur, Geir E. E. Søli, Karina Wieczorek, Krzysztof Zawierucha, Katarzyna Zmudczynska-skarbek

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Abstract

Arctic terrestrial invertebrate biodiversity is generally poorly known, but the archipelago of Svalbard has one of the most up-to-date inventories of its terrestrial and freshwater faunas of any Arctic region, offering a baseline for long term monitoring of invertebrate communities in space and time. Since the most recent review of the Svalbard invertebrate fauna was produced in 2014, knowledge of this fauna has developed and this inventory is here critically revised and updated. Our aims are (1) to critically review the inventory based on current taxonomic knowledge, (2) publish the complete species inventory, including cross-referencing to the relevant publications, in an open access data archive (GBIF), and (3) highlight the particular advantages that working in Svalbard may bring for scientists working on terrestrial, freshwater, and cryospheric environments. The inventory contains a total 1091 valid species names or interim names. A gap analysis in the Barcode of Life Data Systems reveals that 50% of the species currently documented from Svalbard lack COI (Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1) barcode reference sequences in this database. Gaps in our knowledge of the Svalbard fauna and how these may be resolved are discussed.
Original languageEnglish
JournalArctic Science
Volume10
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)799–814
Number of pages16
ISSN2368-7460
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

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