Our study is the first to describe the diversity patterns of polynoid assemblages along a 1400 km transect crossing a productivity gradient in the CCFZ with the aim to assess the factors possibly driving alpha and beta diversity. Polynoids are a very diverse group of scale worms living at water sediment interface that can only be accurately sampled in the abyss with an epibenthic sledge (EBS). Although the EBS may suffer from methodological biases, our findings are surprisingly contrasting with previous studies examining mostly sedentary polychaetes in that we found high abundance and species richness in the most oligotrophic site. We suggest that during their radiation in the deep sea, macellicephalins have adapted to the exploitation of meager resources at the benthic boundary layer. Our findings contribute to understanding of how food-limitation could drive diversification in the deep-sea by accessing the water column and thus exploiting new benthopelagic niches.
The increasing demand for metals is pushing forward the progress of deep-sea mining industry. The abyss between the Clarion and Clipperton Fracture Zones (CCFZ), a region holding a higher concentration of minerals than land deposits, is the most …
Macrofauna are an abundant and diverse component of abyssal benthic communities and are likely to be heavily impacted by polymetallic nodule mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ). In 2012, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) used available …
The present investigation focuses on the Global Sea Mineral Resources contract area B4S03 site in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone nodule fields. We investigated the sedimentary characteristics and the higher-taxon (order/class) and lower-taxon …
*Idunella bacheleti* sp. nov., une nouvelle espèce de Liljeborgiidae (Crustacea : Amphipoda) du canyon de Capbreton (golfe de Gascogne, Nord-Est de l’océan Atlantique). Lors de la troisième campagne du projet BIOMIN (BIOMIN-3) dans le canyon de …
The patterns observed in the composition of polychaete assemblages were attributed to variations in food supply at the regional scale and nodule density at the local scale. The high levels of species replacement were mainly driven by rare species, leading to regional species pool estimates between 498 and 240 000 species. The high proportion of singletons seems reflect an under-sampling bias that is currently preventing the assessment of potential biodiversity loss due to nodule mining.
_Prionospio_ Malmgren 1867 and _Aurospio_ Maciolek 1981 (Annelida: Spionidae) are polychaete genera commonly found in the deep sea. Both genera belong to the Prionospio complex, whose members are known to have limited distinguishing characters. …
This is the first study within the CCFZ describing polynoids species (17 new species and four new genera). Also we provide a reclassification of the subfamilies and comments about polynoids evolution within the deep-sea.
Hesionids are a very speciose group of polychaetes. In the deep sea, they occur in different environments such as hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, abyssal depths or whale falls. In the present study, a new species of Hesionidae, _Hesiospina legendrei_ …