The deep sea, the largest biome on Earth, has a series of characteristics that make this
environment both distinct from other marine and land ecosystems and unique for the entire …

▪ Abstract The direct effects of marine habitat disturbance by commercial fishing have been
well documented. However, the potential ramifications to the ecological function of seafloor …

▪ Abstract Most of our knowledge of biodiversity and its causes in the deep-sea benthos
derives from regional-scale sampling studies of the macrofauna. Improved sampling …

Summary 1 One of the general characteristics of ecological communities is that the number
of species accumulates with increasing area sampled. However, it is important to distinguish …

We analysed relationships between demersal fish species richness, environment and trawl
characteristics using an extensive collection of trawl data from the oceans around New …

T he oceans encompass habitats ranging from highly productive coastal regions to lightless,
high-pressure, and low-temperature deep-sea environments. The benthic (bottom-living) …

▪ Abstract Marine biodiversity encompasses all levels of complexity of life in the sea, from
within species to across ecosystems. At all levels, marine biodiversity has naturally exhibited …

Species diversity includes two aspects, the number of species (species richness) and the
proportional abundances of the species (heterogeneity diversity). Species richness and …

Polychaetes are well represented in most marine and estuarine environments, both in terms
of number of individuals and species, and they typically contribute a significant percentage …

Marine soft sediments comprise one of the largest and oldest habitats in the world, yet
remarkably little is known about patterns of species richness. Here I present a short review of …