The progress in the study of Arctic pack ice ecology

The sea ice community plays an important role in the Arctic marine ecosys2 tem. Because of the predicted environmental changes in the Arctic environment and specifically related to sea ice , the Arctic pack ice biota has received more attention in recent years using modern ice2breaking research vessels. Studies show that the Arctic pack ice contains a diverse biota and besides ice al gae , the bacterial and protozoan biomasses can be high. Surprisingly high primary production values were observed in the pack ice of the central Arctic Ocean. Occasionall y biomass maximum were discov2 ered in the interior of the ice floes , a habitat that had been i gnored in most Arctic studies. Many scientific questions , which deserve special attention , remained unsolved due to logistic limitations and the sea ice characteristics. Little is know about the pack ice community in the central Arctic Ocean. Almost no data exists from the pack ice zone for the winter season. Concerning the abundance of bacteria and protozoa , more studies are needed to understand the microbial network within the ice and its role in material and energy flows. The response of the sea ice biota to global change will im2 pact the entire Arctic marine ecosystem and a long2term monitoring program is need2 ed. The techniques , that are applied to study the sea ice biota and the sea ice ecolo gy ,