Marine biodiversity data are increasingly accessible through digital infrastructures, but their usability depends on how these systems are structured and connected. This is particularly evident in polar marine ecosystems, where fragmented infrastructures influence how biodiversity observations are accessed, combined, and interpreted.
Using polar marine sponges (Porifera) as a model system, this study examined how the configuration of the polar biodiversity data ecosystem shaped data accessibility, stakeholder effort, and observed biodiversity patterns. A landscape analysis identified over one hundred biodiversity-related databases which held polar sponge records. While aggregated infrastructures such as Global Biodiversity Information Facility and Ocean Biodiversity Information System provided centralised access, many databases remained only partially connected or outside shared systems. This structure produced uneven coverage across spatiotemporal and taxonomic dimensions, alongside duplication across infrastructures. As a result, reduction in effort were conditional on the data required, with some workflows requiring navigation across multiple specialised repositories.
Pathway comparisons showed that biodiversity patterns were pathway-contingent. Aggregation captured broad patterns whereas federation contributed contemporary observations. Differences in infrastructure participation produced Arctic–Antarctic asymmetries in data accessibility. An equity-orientated prioritisation framework was developed to identify key databases from the biodiversity data landscape for integration.