Structure of Coastal Fish Communities in Yarnyshnaya and Zelenetskaya Bays (Eastern Murman)

Abstract

This article considers the species composition of the ichthyofauna in the littoral and sublittoral zone of Yarnyshnaya and Zelenetskaya bays of the Barents Sea in the spring and summer period in 2008 and 2010–2014. The quantitative characteristics of the abundance of each fish species have been obtained for the first time. The dynamics of the diversity of coastal fish communities is analyzed. Eighteen fish species have been revealed; the most constant and numerous among them are underyearlings of saithe Pollachius virens, Atlantic cod Gadus morhua, and shorthorn sculpin Myoxocephalus scorpius. Fluctuations in saithe abundance make the main contribution to the interannual variability in fish abundance and fish community diversity in the coastal area of the studied bays.