Abstract
Abstract. Submarine canyons have often been identified as hotspots of secondary production with the potential to house distinct faunal assemblages and idiosyncratic ecosystems. Within these deep-sea habitats, assemblages of scavenging fauna play a vital role in reintroducing organic matter from large food falls into the wider deep-sea food chain. Free-fall baited traps were set at different depths within three submarine canyons on the Iberian Margin. Amphipods from the traps were identified to species level and counted. Scavenging amphipod assemblages were compared at different depths within each canyon and between individual canyon systems. Using data from literature, abyssal plain assemblages were compared to submarine canyon assemblages. Samples from canyons were found to contain common abyssal plain species but in greater than expected abundances. It is proposed that this is a result of the high organic carbon input into canyon systems owing to their interception of sediment from the continental shelf and input from associated estuarine systems. Community composition differed significantly between the submarine canyons and abyssal plains. The cause of this difference cannot be attributed to one environmental variable due to the numerous inherent differences between canyons and abyssal plains.
Highlights
Large submarine canyons are complex, poorly understood, topographical features (Shepard and Dill, 1966)
This study aims to determine if scavenging amphipod communities in submarine canyons differ from those in other locales and identify factors that may potentially be affecting community composition and species distributions
Scavenging amphipod assemblages in submarine canyons are dominated by a few common abyssal species occurring in large numbers with no evidence for endemic canyon species
Summary
Large submarine canyons are complex, poorly understood, topographical features (Shepard and Dill, 1966). They experience heightened levels of sediment input, with active submarine canyons acting as downward conduits for matter that has been transported along the continental shelf (Vetter and Dayton, 1998). This effect is often amplified in the presence of contributory river systems (van Weering et al, 2002; Curdia et al, 2004). Biomass in the Kaikoura Canyon, off the coast of New Zealand is estimated to be yet another order of magnitude greater again (De Leo et al, 2010)
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