Abyssal foraminifera attached to polymetallic nodules from the eastern Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone: a preliminary description and comparison with North Atlantic dropstone assemblages

Editorial: Biodiversity of the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone

“…In addition, there are quite a few common species, in some cases broadcast spawners, occurring widely across the CCZ (e.g. Glover et al 2002;Gooday et al 2015;Wilson 2017).…”

Novel benthic foraminifera are abundant and diverse in an area of the abyssal equatorial Pacific licensed for polymetallic nodule exploration

“…considered only part of the collection. Most other studies in the CCZ have likewise addressed selected components of the foraminiferal faunas2021222324. Our study of ‘entire’ assemblages is closest to that of Nozawa et al 13.…”

“…This would allow them to occupy specialised ecological niches, leading to the co-existence of many species in heterogeneous, nodule-rich habitats. On the other hand, the nodules themselves host rich assemblages of encrusting foraminifera, the majority of which are not represented in the sediment community21. Their presence, therefore, will undoubtedly enhance the diversity of the foraminiferal assemblages as a whole (i.e.…”

“…The 32–63-μm1359 and <32-μm5660 fractions yield additional tiny species5961. The nodules themselves are colonised by rich assemblages of largely undescribed foraminiferal species, either encrusting the outer surface of the nodules212462 or their inner cavities and crevices63, with very little overlap between the nodule- and sediment-dwelling assemblages. If these additional sources of diversity are taken into account, our estimate of 503–668 foraminiferal species, based on only 5 samples, is certainly a considerable under-estimate of the number of foraminiferal species across the entire UK-1 Stratum A area.…”

The Benthic Megafaunal Assemblages of the CCZ (Eastern Pacific) and an Approach to their Management in the Face of Threatened Anthropogenic Impacts

“…There is clearly a markedly greater abundance and taxonomic richness of megafauna and macrofauna in nodule bearing areas, while meiofauna prefers nodule free areas. This general pattern has been observed not only in the CCZ (Mullineaux, 1987;Morgan, 1991;Radziejewska, 1997;Radziejewska and Stoyanova, 2000;Galeron et al, 2006;ISBA, 2008;Stoyanova, 2008;Gooday et al, 2015;Amon et al, 2016;Vanreusel et al, 2016) but also within the eastern Pacific in the Peru basin, where the nodule crevice fauna has been found to be distinctly different from that living in the sediment in the proximity of the nodules (Tilot, 1989;Thiel et al, 1993).…”