Main differences in macrobenthos and benthic communities of the arctic and antarctic, as illustrated by comparison of the Laptev and Weddell sea faunas

A comparison of the benthic macrofaunas of the Laptev and Weddell seas revealed considerable differences in the species composition of the Arctic and Antarctic shelf faunas. In the Arctic, the infauna has the highest species diversity and plays the main role in the benthic communities, whereas in the Antarctic the epifauna predominates. The main reasons for these essential differences are (1) the different sediment composition at the time of formation of cold-water faunas, (2) the different productivity of the ecosystems, (3) the different extent of exchange with the adjacent oceans, and (4) the different history of the origin of both faunas.