In the bottom fauna of the Van Keulen fiord 53 taxa of invertebrates (51 species) were recorded. Four different bottom types were sampled and the distribution of invertebrates in these bottom types is discussed. The most important components in the benthos of the fiord were Polvchaeta. Crustacea. Bivalvia and Gastropoda (79.2%). From the zoogeographical point of view the Van Keulen fiord should be included into the transient zone, situated at the border of the boreal and arctic zones.

Species diversity of Collembola was studied in the vicinity of Polish Polar Station, Hornsund area, West Spitsbergen. A list of 32 species has been compiled, and their distribution over microlandscapes and microhabitats in the study area has been presented.

Scavenging fauna was sampled by means of baited traps in three different habitats of Kongsfjorden (Svalbard, Arctic). Lysianassoid amphipods, represented by nine species, made up 98.9% of the materials collected between 5 and 30 m. The dominant species were Anonyx sarsi and Onisimus caricus, which constituted 91.6% of collected individuals. The abundance of animals attracted to traps was variable and a gradual decrease in abundance with increasing depth was observed. Spatial segregation of species resulted from a number of factors ranging from depth, hydrological conditions, sedimentation regime and bottom type to food accessibility. Gut contents analysis indicated that in summer Onisimus caricus relied on zooplankton sinking due to the osmotic shock in the glacial bay; Onisimus edwardsi had a diverse diet; and Orchomenella minuta fed mostly on small crustaceans. During laboratory experiments all species were observed feeding on dead or injured zooplankton, while preying on live planktonie organisms was never noted.

The list of 29 gastropod species and 33 species of bivalves occurring in Hornsund Fiord as well as their zoogeographic status are presented. The occurrence and role of Mollusca in particular parts of the fiord are discussed.

By means of the synthetic diagram method (Romaniszyn 1970) populations of benthic Polychaeta at the depth ranging from 15 to 250 m of the Admiralty Bay (South Shetland Islands) were analysed. During the summer season of 1979/80 three replicate subsamples were taken at 18 stations situated along 3 crosssections using the Van Veen grab of a catching area of 0.09 m2 ; 61 benthic taxa of Polychaeta were recorded in these samples. The characteristics of particular assemblages are presented together with their tendency to change as a result of substrate quality, depth and position in the study area. Considerable affinity between the fauna of Polychaeta in the shallowest part of the bay and the composition and structure of polychaete assemblages occurring at Arthur Harbor (Anvers Island), which were described by Richardson and Hedgpeth (1977) was recorded.

Information is presented concerning amphipod crustaceans eaten by three penguin species breeding on King George Island: Pygoscelis adeliae, P. antarctica and P. papua. In their stomachs 10 gammaridean and 3 hyperiidean amphipod species were found. The most abundant species was Parathemisto gaudichaudii. Noteworthy are the records of recently described and still poorly known species: Eusirus propeperdentatus and Eusirus cf. tridentatus. Some 15% of all amphipod specimens found in penguin stomachs were benthic species that are very common in the Antarctic littoral and which probably swarm.