Lack of published data on invertebrate fauna on Edgeøya leaves an area of more than 5000 km2 undescribed. Comparisons of community composition between east and western locations together with Phylogeographical analyses will be used to test Biogeographical patterns at Svalbard Archipelago. Samples from Edgeøya are thus required not to bias the results towards western Spistbergen data.

The invertebrate fauna of Polar Regions is rich and unique yet still poorly understood. The most of the invertebrate records are from western locations close to Longyearbyen, Ny-Ålesund and Hornsund. Few records exist from selected locations in Nordaustlandet. Recent studies of invertebrate fauna in Nordaustlandet have been performed but the area remains poorly known while compared to data from Western Spitsbergen. Studies from S, SE and E parts of Svalbard (Sørkapp, Storfjord, Edgeøya, Barenstøya, Kong Karls Land, Kvitøya, Hopen) are almost completely absent. There are only general descriptions available.

After a thorough bibliographic search no published records of the invertebrate fauna of Edgeøya was found, leaving an area of more than 5000 km2 unknown. Data from some microarthropod groups such as Mesostigmatic mites seem to be completely absent. Therefore an idea of this work was born. Together with community description studies, phylogeographical analyses have been carried out. Samples from western Svalbard and Nordaustlandet, as well as from several locations in the Holarctic are already available for phylogeographical studies. Nonetheless, samples from eastern Svalbard are still required in order not to bias the results towards well known and intensely sampled areas in western Svalbard.

The original plan was to reach Kapp Lee, Diskobukta, Dyreheia and Negerpynten. However an additional permission for landing in Russebukta, Blåbuktflya and Kapp Heuglin was granted. Weather conditions permitted landing in western locations only (Kapp Lee, Diskobukta and Russebukta). From the samples collected, 28 collembolan species have been indentified so far. Out of these two have not been found in Svalbard previously. Samples are being analyzed for Cryptostigmatic and Mesostigmatic mites, Enchytraeids worms, diptera and aphids.

The outcome of this project has high conservational and scientific value. The species list will be made available for general public at SPIDER webpage (Svalbard Pictographic Invertebrate Database and Educational Resources), results will be published in perreviewed journals, and the study is a part of the PhD thesis of María Luisa Ávila Jiménez in High Arctic Invertebrate Biogeography (RIS ID: 2538).

(Source: Arctic Field Grant Report from María Luisa Ávila Jiménez, RiS ID3312)

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From left to right: Arne Fjellberg (Collembola specialist), Steve C. Coulson (Invertebrate Ecology and Ecophysiology), Torstein Solhøy (Cryptostigmatic mites specialist), Dariusz J. Gwiadowicz (Mesostigmatic mites specialist), María Luisa Ávila (Invertebrate Biogeography).

Projected sampling sites in Edgeøya