The effect of estuarine system on the meiofauna and nematodes in the East Siberian Sea

Arctic meiofauna and nematodes were examined at 12 stations in the East Siberian Sea, covering a depth range of 13–59 m and an estuarine-shelf system from the Indigirka and Kolyma rivers to the adjacent shelf. Our data reveal the low diversity of the meiofauna at the East Siberian Sea shelf. The meiobenthos abundance was influenced by river run-off and the sea bottom landscape. The samples comprised a total of 28 families and 72 genera, and the number of genera per station ranged from 15 to 32. The Comesomatidae was the dominant family with genus Sabatieria. Among all factors, depth, water temperature and the total organic carbon appeared to be important variables explaining spatial variations in meiofauna and nematodes abundance. Depth and river run-off were defining in controlling the density of nematodes in the study area.