A Southern Hemisphere Bathyal Fauna Is Distributed in Latitudinal Bands
Type | Article | ||||||||||||||||
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Date | 2011-02 | ||||||||||||||||
Language | English | ||||||||||||||||
Author(s) | O'Hara Timothy D.1, Rowden Ashley A.2, Bax Nicholas J.3 | ||||||||||||||||
Affiliation(s) | 1 : Museum Victoria, Dept Sci, Melbourne, Vic 3001, Australia. 2 : Natl Inst Water & Atmospher Res, Marine Ecol Program, Wellington 6021, New Zealand. 3 : Commonwealth Sci & Ind Res Org, Hobart, Tas 7001, Australia. |
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Source | Current Biology (0960-9822) (Cell Press), 2011-02 , Vol. 21 , N. 3 , P. 226-230 | ||||||||||||||||
DOI | 10.1016/j.cub.2011.01.002 | ||||||||||||||||
WOS© Times Cited | 69 | ||||||||||||||||
Abstract | The large-scale spatial distribution of seafloor fauna is still poorly understood. In particular, the bathyal zone has been identified as the key depth stratum requiring further macro-ecological research [1], particularly in the Southern Hemisphere [2]. Here we analyze a large biological data set derived from 295 research expeditions, across an equator-to-pole sector of the Indian, Pacific, and Southern oceans, to show that the bathyal ophiuroid fauna is distributed in three broad latitudinal bands and not primarily differentiated by oceanic basins as previously assumed. Adjacent faunas form transitional ecoclines rather than biogeographical breaks. This pattern is similar to that in shallow water despite the order-of-magnitude reduction in the variability of environmental parameters at bathyal depths. A reliable biogeography is fundamental to establishing a representative network of marine reserves across the world's oceans [1, 3]. |
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