Studies of marine microbioerosion in polar environments are scarce. They include our recent investigations of bioerosion traces preserved in sessile balanid skeletons from the Arctic Svalbard archipelago and the Antarctic Ross Sea. Here, we present results from a third study site, Frobisher Bay, in the eastern Canadian Arctic, together with a synthesis of our current knowledge of polar bioerosion in both hemispheres. Barnacles from 62 to 94 m water depth in Frobisher Bay were prepared using the cast-embedding technique to enable visualization of microboring traces by scanning electron microscopy. In total, six ichnotaxa of traces produced by organotrophic bioeroders were found. All recorded ichnotaxa were also present in Mosselbukta, Svalbard, and most in the Ross Sea. Frobisher Bay contrasts with Mosselbukta in that it is a siliciclastic-dominated environment and shows a lower ichnodiversity, which may be accounted for by the limited bathymetrical range and a high turbidity and sedimentation rate. We evaluate potential key ichnotaxa for the cold-temperate and polar regions, of which the most suitable are Flagrichnus baiulus and Saccomorpha guttulata, and propose adapted index ichnocoenoses for the interpretation of palaeobathymetry accordingly. Together, the three studies allow us to make provisional considerations about the biogeographical distribution of polar microbioerosion traces reflecting the ecophysiological limits of their makers.

极地环境中的海洋微生物侵蚀研究很少。它们包括我们最近对北极斯瓦尔巴群岛和南极罗斯海的无柄龟头骨骼中保存的生物侵蚀痕迹的调查。在这里，我们展示了来自加拿大东部北极地区的第三个研究地点 Frobisher Bay 的结果，以及我们目前对两个半球极地生物侵蚀的知识的综合。Frobisher 湾 62 至 94 m 水深的藤壶是使用铸造嵌入技术制备的，以便通过扫描电子显微镜观察微钻孔痕迹。总共发现了六种由有机营养生物侵蚀者产生的痕迹。所有记录的 ichnotaxa 也存在于莫塞尔布克塔、斯瓦尔巴群岛和罗斯海的大部分地区。Frobisher Bay 与 Mosselbukta 的不同之处在于它是一个以硅质碎屑为主的环境，并且显示出较低的鱼类多样性，这可能是由于有限的测深范围和高浊度和沉降率造成的。我们评估了寒温带和极地地区潜在的关键鱼群，其中最合适的是 Flagrichnus baiulus 和 Saccomorpha guttulata，并提出了相应的指数 ichnocoenoses 用于解释古水深测量。总之，这三项研究使我们能够对反映其制造者的生态生理限制的极地微生物侵蚀痕迹的生物地理分布进行临时考虑。