In 2012 and 2013, Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted benthic imagery surveys in the Davis Strait and Baffin Basin in two areas then closed to bottom fishing, the Hatton Basin Voluntary Closure (now the Hatton Basin Conservation Area) and the Narwhal Closure (now partially in the Disko Fan Conservation Area). The photo transects were established as long-term biodiversity monitoring sites to monitor the impact of human activity, including climate change, on the region’s benthic marine biota in accordance with the protocols of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program established by the Council of Arctic Flora and Fauna. These images were analyzed in a techncial report that summarises the epibenthic megafauna found in seven image transects from the Disko Fan Conservation Area. A total of 480 taxa were found, 280 of which were identified as belonging to one of the following phyla: Annelida, Arthropoda, Brachiopoda, Bryozoa, Chordata, Cnidaria, Echinodermata, Mollusca, Nemertea, and Porifera. The remaining 200 taxa could not be assigned to a phylum and were categorised as Unidentified. Each taxon was identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level, typically class, order, or family. The summaries for each of the taxa include their identification numbers in the World Register of Marine Species and Integrated Taxonomic Information System’s databases, taxonomic hierarchies, images, and written descriptions. The report is intended to provide baseline documentation of the epibenthic megafauna in the Disko Fan Conservation Area, and serve as a taxonomic resource for future image analyses in the Arctic. Baker, E., Beazley, L., McMillan, A., Rowsell, J. and Kenchington, E. 2018. Epibenthic Megafauna of the Disko Fan Conservation Area in the Davis Strait (Eastern Arctic) Identified from In Situ Benthic Image Transects. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3272: vi + 388 p. 9,594 occurrences

Dataset of macrofauna sampled between Northern Svalbard and the Makarov Basin, as a basis for understanding aspects of the benthic ecology of the Arctic Ocean. 266 occurrences

To study composition and distribution of zooplankton in the Arctic Ocean. 455 occurrences

Sea Ice Nematodes 32 occurrences

Dataset of macrozoobenthos communities of the Lomonossov Ridge, 1995-1998 1,677 occurrences

Ice Amphipods Canada Basin, 2002 10 occurrences

Arctic Benthos 7,439 occurrences

The Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program, a cornerstone programme of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), Arctic Council working Group is an international network of scientists, government agencies, Indigenous organizations and conservation groups working together to harmonize and integrate efforts to monitor the Arctic&#39;s living resources.CBMP experts are developing four coordinated and integrated Arctic Biodiversity Monitoring Plans to help guide circumpolar monitoring efforts. Results will be channeled into effective conservation, mitigation and adaptation policies supporting the Arctic. These plans represent the Arctic&#39;s major ecosystems(Marine, Freshwater, Coastal, Terrestrial). <p>The Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI) is part of a suite of indicators and indices developed by the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP). The CBMP is the cornerstone programme of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), Arctic Council working Group . It tracks trends in over 300 Arctic vertebrate species and comprises the Arctic component of the Living Planet Index. It is important to identify how wildlife and ecosystems are changing in order to develop effective conservation and adaptation strategies in the Arctic, an environment undergoing dramatic changes. The ASTI describes overall trends across species, taxonomy, ecosystems, regions and other categories.</p> 20,727 occurrences

Dataset based on the results of three zooplankton spatial distribution, species and stage composition surveys in the Barents Sea. 508 occurrences

Dataset on zooplankton in the Canadian Arctic 3,345 occurrences