A comparative analysis of the Harpacticoida (Copepoda) faunas from the northern and southern seas of Russia

Based on extensive voluminous literary data, a comparison of the Harpacticoida faunas of the Black Sea; the Sea of Azov; and the Caspian, Baltic, Barents, White, Kara, Laptev, and East Siberian seas, as well as of the Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land areas, was performed. The degree of community and specificity of the faunas of different regions was estimated and the general patterns of the latitudinal variability in the species compositions were revealed. It is shown that the Harpacticoida faunas of geographically separated areas and even those isolated from each other such as those of the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and the Caspian Sea are rather similar; an hypothesis is put forward that this is caused by the common history of the seas’ formation. In contrast, the faunas of the Arctic seas (Barents, White, Kara, Laptev, and East Siberian), whose water areas are closely connected, are considerably different, being related to their different temperature conditions.