Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Abyssal seafloor communities cover more than 60% of Earth's surface. Despite their great size, abyssal plains extend across modest environmental gradients compared to other marine ecosystems. However, little is known about the patterns and processes regulating biodiversity or potentially delimiting biogeographical boundaries at regional scales in the abyss. Improved macroecological understanding of remote abyssal environments is urgent as threats of widespread anthropogenic disturbance grow in the deep ocean. Here, we use a new, basin-scale dataset to show the existence of clear regional zonation in abyssal communities across the 5,000 km span of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (northeast Pacific), an area targeted for deep-sea mining. We found two pronounced biogeographic provinces, deep and shallow-abyssal, separated by a transition zone between 4,300 and 4,800 m depth. Surprisingly, species richness was maintained across this boundary by phylum-level taxonomic replacements. These regional transitions are probably related to calcium carbonate saturation boundaries as taxa dependent on calcium carbonate structures, such as shelled molluscs, appear restricted to the shallower province. Our results suggest geochemical and climatic forcing on distributions of abyssal populations over large spatial scales and provide a potential paradigm for deep-sea macroecology, opening a new basis for regional-scale biodiversity research and conservation strategies in Earth's largest biome.
Source: Nature Ecology & Evolution
Authors: Erik Simon-Lledó, Diva J. Amon, Guadalupe Bribiesca‐Contreras, Daphne Cuvelier, Jennifer M. Durden, Sofia P. Ramalho, Katja Uhlenkott, Pedro Martinez Arbizu, Noëlie Benoist, Jonathan Copley, Thomas G. Dahlgren, Adrian G. Glover, Bethany Fleming, Tammy Horton, Se-Jong Ju, Alejandra Mejía-Saenz, Kirsty McQuaid, Ellen Pape, Chailinn Park, Craig R. Smith, Daniel O. B. Jones
Institutions: National Oceanography Centre, University of California, Santa Barbara, Natural History Museum, Universidade dos Açores, Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, University of Aveiro, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Senckenberg am Meer, University of Southampton, NORCE Research AS, University of Gothenburg, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Korea University of Science and Technology, University of Plymouth, Ghent University, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Language: English
Subfield: Oceanography
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $11,690
Awards: G1169335522, G1516346500, Centro I&D Okeanos - Universidade dos Açores, Verbundprojekt: JPI-O: EcoMining-DEU - Ecological Aspects of Deep-Sea Mining, Vorhaben: WIEDERBESIEDLUNG: Wiederbesiedlungspotential bergbaulich beanspruchter Tiefseeareale (MiningImpact), G2149047050, G2219685250, G2736865772, Seabed Mining And Resilience To EXperimental impact, G2886341338, Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, G3534458110, Seabed Mining And Resilience To EXperimental impact, Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Seabed Mining And Resilience To EXperimental impact, G4090066734, G533239576, G5402437505, G5454278309, Riscos e impactos ambientais da mineração no mar profundo, NOC Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecosystems, Centro I&D Okeanos - Universidade dos Açores, G684853495, G7665809008, Verbundprojekt: JPI-O MiningImpact - Umweltauswirkungen und -risiken von Tiefseebergbau, Vorhaben: Molekulare Biodiversitätserfassung, G8027789452, Riscos e impactos ambientais da mineração em mar profundo", Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar
OpenAlex ID: W4385197530