The deep sea, the largest ecosystem on Earth and one of the least studied, harbours high
biodiversity and provides a wealth of resources. Although humans have used the oceans for …

Deep-sea ecosystems represent Earth's major ecological research frontier. Focusing on
seafloor ecosystems, we demonstrate how new technologies underpin discoveries that …

The anthozoan sub-class Octocorallia includes over 3500 nominal species of soft corals and
gorgonian sea fans, many of which serve as critical foundation species in benthic marine …

The ocean is a key component of the Earth system (Chapter 1) as it provides essential life
supporting services (Inniss et al. 2017). For example, it stores heat trapped in the …

Increasing interest in deep-seabed mining has raised many questions surrounding its
potential environmental impacts and how to assess the impacts' significance. Under the …

Habitat complexity is one of the most important factors structuring biotic assemblages, yet we
still lack basic understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Although it is one of the primary …

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 …

The deep sea encompasses the largest ecosystems on Earth. Although poorly known, deep
seafloor ecosystems provide services that are vitally important to the entire ocean and …

The deep sea is amongst the most food‐limited habitats on Earth, as only a small fraction (<
4%) of the surface primary production is exported below 200 m water depth. Here, cold …

Submarine canyons are major geomorphic features of continental margins around the world.
Several recent multidisciplinary projects focused on the study of canyons have considerably …