Abstract: Mesozooplankton, important component of Arctic ecosystems, play key roles in thebiogeochemical cycles. The species composition and community characteristics of mesozooplankton were surveyed in Kings Bay area of Svalbard in August 2017. Results showed that 19 species of mesozooplankton were recorded. Copepods were the dominant group, accounting for 57.9% of the total mesozooplankton species. The species number of mesozooplankton gradually decreased from the mouth of the bay to the inside of the bay. The dominant species of mesozooplankton were Oithona decipiens, Calanus finmarchicus and Oithona brevicornis, accounting for 48.0%, 6.1% and 4.3% of the total abundance, respectively. The abundance of those three species accounted for more than 47% of total mesozooplankton abundance in each sampling station. The mean abundance and wet biomass of zooplankton were 1241.5 ind·m^-3  and 290.8 mg·m^-3， respectively. The mesozooplankton abundance, which was mainly influenced by dominant species, increased from the mouth of the bay to the inside of the bay. The mean Shannon diversity index, Pielou evenness index and Margalef richness index of mesozooplankton were 2.36, 0.57 and 1.65, respectively. Tunicata and Coelenterata occurred mainly in the mouth of the bay, which might be influenced by the north Atlantic current. The abundance of mesozooplankton was higher in the inside of the bay than in the mouth of the bay, possibly linked to the ecological chain reaction of climate change.

Key words: GIS, Thermal force field, Greenland coverage, Building dimension