Climate Change Drives Bathymetric Shifts in Taxonomic and Trait Diversity of Deep-Sea Benthic Communities.

ABSTRACT: Climate-induced changes in environmental gradients can cause shifts in ranges of organisms and community composition, with concomitant effects on ecosystem functions. Throughout geological time, deeper depths have been highlighted as refugia for biodiversity and ecosystem functions under a warming climate. Although the deep ocean provides several important ecosystem services, contemporary research on climate effects at the community and ecosystem levels has been limited to the upper 200 m of the water column. As a result, our knowledge of climate-induced impacts on the functions of deep-sea ecosystems is scarce. In this study, we examined climate-induced changes in deep-sea communities at a climate-change hotspot, the Gulf of Maine and adjacent continental slope in the Northwest Atlantic.

SUBMITTER: Rakka M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12322877 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature