Investigating the benthic megafauna in the eastern Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone (north-east Pacific) based on distribution models predicted with random forest.

ABSTRACT: The eastern Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ) is a heterogeneous abyssal environment harbouring relatively low abundances of highly diverse megafauna communities. Potential future mining of polymetallic nodules threatens these benthic communities and calls for detailed spatial investigation of megafauna. Based on the predicted probability of occurrence of 68 megafauna morphotypes, a seabed area extending over 62,000 km² was divided into three assemblages covering an eastern plain area, a deeper western plain area and an area covering both seamount and abyssal hill sites. Richness, estimated as the sum of morphotypes with a predicted probability of occurrence larger than 0.5, amounts to 15.4 of 68 morphotypes. Highest richness was predicted at seamount sites, and lowest rich

SUBMITTER: Uhlenkott K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9114404 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature