Deep‐Sea Benthic Habitats

Tyler, Paul A.; Baker, Maria; Ramírez-Llodra, Eva

doi:10.1002/9781118332535.ch1

Cited by 11 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Abyssal plains cover ∼70% of the seabed, while the oceanic ridge system extends for 80,000 km around the globe, and there are an estimated 100,000 seamounts throughout the world ocean (Wessel et al, 2010). In the past few decades, there has been substantial effort put into mapping and exploring these benthic seafloor habitats (Mayer et al, 2018) fueled by the advent of new technologies that more easily enable deepwater access (Tyler et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Modern day deep-sea exploration has experienced a renaissance in recent years as massive exploratory infrastructure, expeditions, and institutions have entered the landscape (Tyler et al, 2016). Results from these growing efforts have demonstrated that the seafloor possesses a wealth of biodiversity often exceeding that of coastal systems, and rivaling that of coral reefs and tropical rainforests (McClain and Schlacher, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Unknown and the Unexplored: Insights Into the Pacific Deep-Sea Following NOAA CAPSTONE Expeditions

et al. 2019

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Over a 3-year period, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) organized and implemented a Pacific-wide field campaign entitled CAPSTONE: Campaign to Address Pacific monument Science, Technology, and Ocean NEeds. Under the auspices of CAPSTONE, NOAA mapped 597,230 km 2 of the Pacific seafloor (with ∼61% of mapped area located within US waters), including 323 seamounts, conducted 187 ROV dives totaling 891.5 h of ROV benthic imaging time, and documented >347,000 individual organisms. This comprehensive effort yielded dramatic insight into differences in biodiversity across depths, regions, and features, at multiple taxonomic scales. For all deep sea taxonomic groups large enough to be visualized with the ROV, we found that fewer than 20% of the species were able to be identified. The most abundant and highest diversity taxa across the dataset were from three phyla (Cnidaria, Porifera, and Echinodermata). We further examined these phyla for taxonomic assemblage patterns by depth, geographic region, and geologic feature. Within each taxa, there were multiple genera with specific distribution and abundance by depth, region, and feature. Additionally, we observed multiple genera with broad abundance and distribution, which may focus future ecological research efforts. Novel taxa, records, and behaviors were observed, suggestive of many new types of species interactions, drivers of community composition, and overall diversity patterns. To date, only 13.8% of the Pacific has been mapped using modern methods. Despite the incredible

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Unknown and the Unexplored: Insights Into the Pacific Deep-Sea Following NOAA CAPSTONE Expeditions

et al. 2019

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“…The deep-sea bed (>200 m water depth) constitutes the largest benthic ecosystem on Earth (Tyler et al, 2016). Nevertheless, although deep-sea sampling efforts have surged in recent years (Stuart et al, 2008;McClain and Schlacher, 2015), the deep-sea floor, and especially the abyss (>3,000 m; Stuart et al, 2008), remains largely undersampled (Ramirez-Llodra et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limited Spatial and Temporal Variability in Meiofauna and Nematode Communities at Distant but Environmentally Similar Sites in an Area of Interest for Deep-Sea Mining

et al. 2017

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To be able to adequately assess potential environmental impacts of deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining, the establishment of a proper environmental baseline, incorporating both spatial and temporal variability, is essential. The aim of the present study was to evaluate both spatial and intra-annual variability in meiofauna (higher taxa) and nematode communities (families and genera, and Halalaimus species) within the license area of Global Sea mineral Resources (GSR) in the northeastern Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ), and to determine the efficiency of the current sampling of meiofauna and nematode diversity. In October 2015, three polymetallic nodule-bearing sites, about 60–270 km apart, located at similar depths (ca. 4,500 m) were sampled, of which one site was sampled in April in that same year. Despite the relatively large geographical distances and the statistically significant, but small, differences in sedimentary characteristics between sites, meiofauna and nematode communities were largely similar in terms of abundance, composition and diversity. Between-site differences in community composition were mainly driven by a set of rare and less abundant taxa. Moreover, although surface primary productivity in April exceeded that in October, no significant changes were observed in sedimentary characteristics or in meiofauna and nematode communities. At all sites and in both periods, Nematoda were the prevailing meiofaunal phylum, which was in turn dominated by Monhysterid genera and Acantholaimus. Our findings support the earlier purported notion of a low degree of endemism for nematode genera and meiofauna taxa in the deep sea, and hint at the possibility of large distribution ranges for at least some Halalaimus species. Taxon richness estimators revealed that the current sampling design was able to characterize the majority of the meiofauna and nematode taxa present. To conclude, implications of the present findings for environmental management and future research needs are provided

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“…This allows us to estimate the amount of sediment-free seafloor which may be present in the Atlantic. Our finding suggest that "hard rock" should be added to the list of currently 17-25 (depending on author) habitat types recognized in the abyss (1,35) and that previous explanations for biodiversity patterns in the abyss may need to be rethought. This approach is an initial step toward using hydroacoustic remote sensing as a mapping tool for habitat and biodiversity assessments in the framework of effective conservation strategies and sustainable exploitation in the abyss.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 89%

Discovery of widely available abyssal rock patches reveals overlooked habitat type and prompts rethinking deep-sea biodiversity

Riehl

Wölfl

Augustin

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Habitat heterogeneity and species diversity are often linked. On the deep seafloor, sediment variability and hard-substrate availability influence geographic patterns of species richness and turnover. The assumption of a generally homogeneous, sedimented abyssal seafloor is at odds with the fact that the faunal diversity in some abyssal regions exceeds that of shallow-water environments. Here we show, using a ground-truthed analysis of multibeam sonar data, that the deep seafloor may be much rockier than previously assumed. A combination of bathymetry data, ruggedness, and backscatter from a trans-Atlantic corridor along the Vema Fracture Zone, covering crustal ages from 0 to 100 Ma, show rock exposures occurring at all crustal ages. Extrapolating to the whole Atlantic, over 260,000 km2of rock habitats potentially occur along Atlantic fracture zones alone, significantly increasing our knowledge about abyssal habitat heterogeneity. This implies that sampling campaigns need to be considerably more sophisticated than at present to capture the full deep-sea habitat heterogeneity and biodiversity.

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Deep‐Sea Benthic Habitats

Cited by 11 publications

References 56 publications

The Unknown and the Unexplored: Insights Into the Pacific Deep-Sea Following NOAA CAPSTONE Expeditions

The Unknown and the Unexplored: Insights Into the Pacific Deep-Sea Following NOAA CAPSTONE Expeditions

Limited Spatial and Temporal Variability in Meiofauna and Nematode Communities at Distant but Environmentally Similar Sites in an Area of Interest for Deep-Sea Mining

Discovery of widely available abyssal rock patches reveals overlooked habitat type and prompts rethinking deep-sea biodiversity

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