Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2023
Höfundar / Authors: (1) Guðmundur Guðmundsson, (2) Steinunn Hilma Ólafsdóttir
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: (1) Icelandic Institute of Natural History, Urridaholtsstraeti 6-8, IS-210 Gardabaer, Iceland. (2) The Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, Fornubúðum 5 220 Hafnarfjörður, Iceland.Iceland
Kynnir / Presenter: Guðmundur Guðmundsson
The benthic realm off Iceland is divided between two worlds: the cold northern seas of the Arctic and the temperate waters of the North Atlantic. This division is part of the larger biogeographic boundary between the northern Arctic and the southern Boreal regions. The Icelandic Benthos Database (IBD) holds information on over 7 million museum specimens and 151,000 occurrence records of 4,313 benthic invertebrate marine species, mainly within the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone of Iceland (EEZ). The area spans a depth range of 20–3000 m, with annual mean bottom water temperature ranging from -1°C to over +9°C. The IBD is compiled and maintained by the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute and The Icelandic Institute of Natural History. The BIOICE dataset is largest, based 1,390 zoological samples collected at 579 sampling stations that were and distributed according to a randomly stratified sampling plan within the EEZ. The BIOICE dataset serves as a reference control of distribution records of studies from smaller sub-areas within the EEZ and numerous literature records, also recorded in IBD. All species names and current taxonomical classification reflects the standardized nomenclature of WoRMS. The objective is to gain a comprehensive overview of taxonomic diversity and distribution of all benthic invertebrate species in Icelandic waters. The IBD offers a unique oversight and research opportunities on the rich biodiversity patterns in Icelandic waters.