Larval dispersal and recruitment of benthic invertebrates in the Arctic Ocean

•We combined observations from larval traps, fouling panels, and opportunistic sampling of biofouling on oceanographic moorings to study larval dispersal in the Fram Strait and on the north Svalbard continental slope.•Species composition was significantly different between samplers exposed to Atlantic Water in the West Spitsbergen Current and samplers exposed to Arctic Water in the East Greenland Current and near the seafloor.•Most of the collected individuals belonged to species with long-duration planktotrophic larvae. We also observed reproduction via a medusa stage in the hydrozoans Rhizoragium roseum and Stegopoma plicatile.•The WSC is an important vector for dispersal of benthic invertebrates into the central Arctic Ocean.