In 2018 RRS James Clark Ross investigated the marine benthic biodiversity of the Prince Gustav Channel area and the macrobenthic molluscan fauna collected by epibenthic sledge (EBS) has been assessed for species richness, abundance and assemblage composition as well as for functional traits. In total 20,307 mollusc specimens assigned to 50 morphospecies and 4 classes (Solenogastres, Bivalvia, Gastropoda and Scaphopoda) were identified. Assemblage analyses across the Prince Gustav Channel area did not show apparent pattern or separation across depth, taxon or station. To set the bivalve dataset into a wider context, unpublished bivalve species richness and abundance data from EBS collected stations in the area influenced by the Weddell Gyre were added. This doi dataset provides data for 1) PGC EBS locations, 2) PGC EBS molluscan abundances, 3) PGC molluscan functional traits, 4) Weddell Gyre EBS stations (300 - 2000 m depth), 5) Weddell Gyre EBS bivalve standardised 1000 m trawl length abundances (300 - 2000 m depth). Funding was provided by NERC urgency grant NE/R012296/1 ''Benthic biodiversity under Antarctic ice-shelves - baseline assessment of the seabed exposed by the 2017 calving of the Larsen-C Ice Shelf''.

SOMBASE is a tool for looking at marine molluscs in the seas around Antarctica. Using a database and the latest mapping technology it is possible to display all the places where a family, genus or species has been found on an electronic map. These maps show us how widely spread different organisms are and if they prefer a particular area or type of habitat. The database can also be used to address questions about biodiversity in the seas around Antarctica and how it''s unique environment affects which animals are found there. SOMBASE contains comprehensive distribution records of Antarctic, Magellanic, and Sub-Antarctic Gastropods and Bivalves as well as records for many other species from the Southern Hemisphere. Based upon published records and British Antarctic Survey data these distribution maps form part of a biogeographic database, which also includes taxonomic, ecological and habitat data. The database contains information on over 3,250 species from more than 3,800 locations.