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 …