Hirche, H. J., Kosobokova, K. N., Gaye-Haake, B., Harms, I., Meon, B. and Nöthig, E.-M. (2006) Structure and function of contemporary food webs on Arctic shelves: A panarctic comparison The pelagic system of the Kara Sea – Communities and components of carbon flow. Progress in Oceanography, 71 . pp. 288-313. DOI 10.1016/j.pocean.2006.09.010.

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Abstract

After a short introduction to the physical setting and the history of biological research the pelagic ecosystem of the
Kara Sea is described. Main emphasis is on regional aspects of the plankton communities and their seasonal dynamics
using mostly data collected between 1996 and 2001. In the zooplankton, for which most data were available, four regional
aggregations were separated: (1) the rivers and estuaries of the Southern Kara Sea, (2) the south-western and (3) the central
Kara Sea, and (4) the northern troughs and slope. The phytoplankton communities had a similar distribution. To provide
components for detailed carbon budgets the regional dynamics of bacterial, phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass and
production are described and carbon requirements of bacteria and zooplankton are estimated. For completeness a short
literature review on higher trophic levels is included. Finally, recent observations of the pelago-benthic coupling are considered.
Estimates of the carbon requirements from the plankton and benthos reveal a large underestimation of primary
production, which to date, together with seasonal aspects, shows the largest gap in our knowledge.

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