Macroalgae's flora of the Kola Bay (the Barents Sea)

The Kola Bay is the most developed part of the Barents Sea. Benthic phytocenoses of its southern part are well studied, and the Northern ones have almost no modern descriptions. Flora of the Kola Bay has not been revised since the beginning of the XX century. The list of species for the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea has been compiled based on the results of expeditions in 2009–2013. The distribution of species in the areas of the bay has been analyzed. Altogether flora according to our data includes 94 species of algae macrophytes. Species diversity decreases towards the top of the Kola Bay: in the northern knee 87 species have been identified, in the middle one – 75, and in the south – only 24. The largest number of species along one incision has been observed on the island of Toros, at the mouth of the bay, – 51. Kornmannia leptoderma and Saccorhiza dermatodea have been detected as species having conservation status