Fucus vesiculosus is one of the most prominent brown algae in the shallow waters of the seas of the Arctic region (Barents (BS), White (WS), Norwegian (NS), and Irminger (IS)). The aim of this study was to determine the biochemical composition of F. vesiculosus from the Arctic at different reproductive phases, and to evaluate the antioxidant properties of F. vesiculosus extracts. The amounts of monosaccharides, phlorotannins, flavonoids, and ash and the mineral composition significantly varied in the algae. A strong correlation was established between monosaccharide, phlorotannin, and flavonoid accumulation and water salinity (Pearson’s correlation coefficients r = −0.58, 0.83, and 0.44, respectively; p < 0.05). We noted a negative correlation between the antioxidant activity and the amount of the structural monosaccharides of fucoidan (r = −0.64). A positive correlation of phlorotannins and flavonoids with antioxidant power was confirmed for all samples. The ash accumulation was relatively lower in the sterile phase for the algae from the BS and WS. The correlation between the Metal Pollution Index (MPI) and the reproductive phases was medium with high fluctuation. Meanwhile, the MPI strongly correlated with the salinity and sampling site. The gradient of the MPI values across the sea was in the following ranking order: BS < WS < NS < IS. Taken together, and based on our data on the elemental contents of F. vesiculosus, we believe that this alga does not accumulate toxic doses of elements. Therefore, the Arctic F. vesiculosus could be safely used in food and drug development as a source of active biochemical compounds and as a source of dietary elements to cover the daily nutritional requirements of humans.

Fucus distichus L. is the dominant canopy-forming macroalga in the rocky intertidal areas of the Arctic and Subarctic. In the present study, the impact of the geographic location of F. distichus collected in the Baffin Sea (BfS), Norwegian Sea (NS), White Sea (WS), and Barents Sea (BS) on the variations in biochemical composition, antiradical properties, and health risk was evaluated. The accumulation of main carbohydrates (fucoidan, mannitol, and alginic acid) varied from 335 mg/g dry weight (DW) in NS to 445 mg/g DW in BS. The highest level of the sum of polyphenols and flavonoids was found in samples of F. distichus from WS and was located in the following ranking order: BS < BfS < NS < WS. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity of seaweed is correlated with its phenolic content. It is notable that in most Arctic F. distichus samples, Cd, Cr, Pb, and Ni were not detected or their concentrations were below the limit of quantification. According to calculated targeted hazard quotient and hazard index values, all studied samples of Arctic F. distichus are safe for daily consumption as they do not pose a carcinogenic risk to the health of adults or children. The results of this study support the rationale for using Arctic F. distichus as a rich source of polysaccharides, polyphenols, and flavonoids with important antiradical activity. We believe that our data will help to effectively use the potential of F. distichus and expand the use of this algae as a promising and safe raw material for the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Trophic niche and diet comparisons among closely sympatric marine species are important to understand complex food webs, particularly in regions most affected by climate change. Using stable isotope analyses, all ontogenetic stages of three sympatric species of Arctic cephalopods (genusRossia) were studied to assess inter- and intraspecific competition with niche and diet overlap and partitioning in West Greenland and the Barents Sea. Seven traits related to resource and habitat utilization were identified inRossia: no trait was shared by all three species. High borealR. megapteraand Arctic endemicR. moellerishared three traits with each other, while bothR. megapteraandR. moellerishared only two unique traits each with widespread boreal-ArcticR. palpebrosa. Thus all traits formed fully uncrossing pattern with each species having unique strategy of resource and habitat utilization. Predicted climate changes in the Arctic would have an impact on competition amongRossiawith one potential ‘winner’ (R. megapterain the Barents Sea) but no potential ‘losers’.

This long-term observation of the faunal composition within the Barents Sea provides a benchmark for monitoring community changes caused by oceanographic variability, fishery activities, and crab predators (Chionoecetes opilio, Paralithodes camtschaticus), whose populations have been rapidly growing and spreading in recent years. In the Arctic systems, megabenthic communities comprise a significant part of benthic biomass and play an important role in carbon cycling on continental shelves. The gradual accumulation of knowledge on megabenthos may make it possible to assess their role in the ecosystem and ultimately contribute to a more rational management of the Barents Sea resources. This article represents an important series of long-term megabenthic observations in the Barents Sea. The main goal of our research is to identify spatial patterns and temporal trends in the megabenthic part of communities, including changes in the biomass and production values. As a part of the joint Norwegian-Russian ecosystem surveys, benthic experts have been identifying the invertebrates (megafauna) collected by bottom trawls during annual assessments of commercial stocks, such as Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis). The sampling equipment used was a Campelen 1800 bottom trawl, rigged with rockhopper ground gear and towed on double warps, and standardized to a fixed sampling effort (equivalent to a towing distance of 0.75 nautical miles (nm), or 1.4 km). The processing of the biological material was conducted in accordance with standardized procedures, following the retrieval of each trawl. This work represents data from 5016 stations from 2005 to 2017, with a total sampled biomass of 238.4 tons and 14.9 million individual organisms. In total, 694 megabenthic species (1058 taxa) have been recorded, with the greatest diversity observed in the depth range of 100–400 m, while the largest mean catches were taken between depths of 600–800 m. The biomass (B) and production (P) values of the benthic megafauna were approximately stable during the 9 years of investigation, although there was a decreasing trend after 2014. The annual production P/B ratio of megabenthos was calculated to be at 0.3. The distribution, contribution to production, and gross biomass values of the megabenthos had been underestimated in the previous studies of zoobenthos. The results from this research show that, in the current warm period, the majority of the Barents Sea is in an intermediate state between the Arctic and boreal regions due to the wide distribution of boreal species toward the north. The dynamics of the mean biogeographical index (the border between areas of the dominance of boreal and Arctic species) within the central-southern part of the Barents Sea suggests that a large part of the area can be characterized as predominantly boreal intermediate since 2013.

This article investigates the diet of the snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) and its feeding intensity in the Barents Sea. Data show that snow crab has a diverse diet that includes almost all types of benthic invertebrates living in the Barents Sea. There are differences between the diets of females and males and of juveniles and adults. Juveniles and females typically occupy shallow areas with communities of bivalve molluscs, while males typically live deeper on slopes and depressions where polychaetes and crustaceans are the most abundant groups. Stomach contents were analysed to determine the species composition and frequency of occurrence of various benthic taxa. Consumption of food was estimated and compared with data from the Russian seas of the Pacific region. The total annual consumption of macrozoobenthos by snow crab was calculated in accordance with its current distribution in the Barents Sea. Snow crab consumes at least 30 000 tonnes of benthos annually, which amounts to 0.1–0.2% of the total macrozoobenthic biomass in the investigated area. The population of snow crab causes the largest impact on the benthic communities in the northeastern part of the Barents Sea and near the south side of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.

Cephalopods are important in Arctic marine ecosystems as predators and prey, but knowledge of their life cycles is poor. Consequently, they are under-represented in the Arctic ecosystems assessment models. One important parameter is the change in ecological role (habitat and diet) associated with individual ontogenies. Here, the life history of Gonatus fabricii, the most abundant Arctic cephalopod, is reconstructed by the analysis of individual ontogenetic trajectories of stable isotopes (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) in archival hard body structures. This approach allows the prediction of the exact mantle length (ML) and mass when the species changes its ecological role. Our results show that the life history of G. fabricii is divided into four stages, each having a distinct ecology: (1) epipelagic squid (ML < 20 mm), preying mostly on copepods; (2) epi- and occasionally mesopelagic squid (ML 20–50 mm), preying on larger crustaceans, fish, and cephalopods; (3) meso- and bathypelagic squid (ML > 50 mm), preying mainly on fish and cephalopods; and (4) non-feeding bathypelagic gelatinous females (ML > 200 mm). Existing Arctic ecosystem models do not reflect the different ecological roles of G. fabricii correctly, and the novel data provided here are a necessary baseline for Arctic ecosystem modelling and forecasting.