Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Despite its remoteness, the deep sea is not spared from the impact of human activities. The emergence of industrial-scale deep-sea mining of polymetallic nodules on the abyssal plains (4-5 km depth) of the Clarion-Clipperton fracture zone in the equatorial Pacific is potentially the most threatening undertaking at present time. A primary aspect that must be comprehensively assessed in order to safeguard these abyssal benthic communities through the designation of marine protected areas and the spatial organization of prospective mining fields is connectivity, i.e., the continuity of species distributions in space and time. In this review we provide the current state of knowledge on connectivity through an examination of published literature focused on several animal groups from all benthic faunal size classes (megafauna, macrofauna, meiofauna) as well as Foraminifera and microbes. We highlight the main challenges associated with assessing connectivity in the deep sea and outline the key parameters required to achieve the idealised connectivity study for fauna and microbes.
Source: Frontiers in Marine Science
Institutions: Ghent University, Senckenberg am Meer, Fondazione Centro Marino Internazionale, Universität Hamburg, OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbH (Austria), Ifremer, University of Aveiro, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Institut de Ciències del Mar, California State University Los Angeles
Language: English
Subfield: Oceanography
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
Funders: Fundo Regional para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Joint Programming Initiative Water challenges for a changing world, Biodiversa+, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior, Vlaamse regering, Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit, Centro de Estudos Ambientais e Marinhos, Universidade de Aveiro, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
OpenAlex ID: W4409409487