| 1. |
- Bribiesca-Contreras, Guadalupe, et al.
(författare)
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Biogeography and Connectivity Across Habitat Types and Geographical Scales in Pacific Abyssal Scavenging Amphipods
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-7745. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recently, there has been a resurgent interest in the exploration of deep-sea mineral deposits, particularly polymetallic nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), central Pacific. Accurate environmental impact assessment is critical to the effective management of a new industry and depends on a sound understanding of species taxonomy, biogeography, and connectivity across a range of scales. Connectivity is a particularly important parameter in determining ecosystem resilience, as it helps to define the ability of a system to recover post-impact. Scavenging amphipods in the superfamilies Alicelloidea Lowry and De Broyer, 2008 and Lysianassoidea Dana, 1849 contribute to a unique and abundant scavenging community in abyssal ecosystems. They are relatively easy to sample and in recent years have become the target of several molecular and taxonomic studies, but are poorly studied in the CCZ. Here, a molecular approach is used to identify and delimit species, and to investigate evolutionary relationships of scavenging amphipods from both abyssal plain and deep (>3000 m) seamount habitats in three APEIs (Areas of Particular Environmental Interest, i.e., designated conservation areas) in the western CCZ. A total of 17 different morphospecies of scavenging amphipods were identified, which include at least 30 genetic species delimited by a fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) barcode gene. The scavenging communities sampled in the western CCZ included the most common species (Abyssorchomene gerulicorbis (Shulenberger and Barnard, 1976), A. chevreuxi (Stebbing, 1906), Paralicella caperesca Shulenberger and Barnard, 1976, and P. tenuipes Chevreux, 1908) reported for other ocean basins. Only four morphospecies, representing five genetic species, were shared between APEIs 1, 4, and 7. The two abyssal plain sites at APEIs 4 and 7 were dominated by two and three of the most common scavenging species, respectively, while the APEI 1 seamount site was dominated by two species potentially new to science that appeared to be endemic to the site. The presence of common species in all sites and high genetic diversity, yet little geographic structuring, indicate connectivity over evolutionary time scales between the areas, which span about 1500 km. Similar to recent studies, the differences in amphipod assemblages found between the seamount and abyssal sites suggest that ecological conditions on seamounts generate distinct community compositions.
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| 2. |
- Drennan, Regan, et al.
(författare)
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Annelid Fauna of the Prince Gustav Channel, a Previously Ice-Covered Seaway on the Northeastern Antarctic Peninsula
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-7745. ; 7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Prince Gustav Channel is a narrow seaway located in the western Weddell Sea on the northeastern-most tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The channel is notable for both its deep (>1200 m) basins, and a dynamic glacial history that most recently includes the break-up of the Prince Gustav Ice Shelf, which covered the southern portion of the channel until its collapse in 1995. However, the channel remains mostly unsampled, with very little known about its benthic biology. We present a preliminary account of the benthic annelid fauna of the Prince Gustav Channel in addition to samples from Duse Bay, a sheltered, glacier-influenced embayment in the northwestern portion of the channel. Samples were collected using an Agassiz Trawl, targeting megafaunal and large macrofaunal sized animals at depths ranging between 200–1200 m; the seafloor and associated fauna were also documented in situ using a Shallow Underwater Camera System (SUCS). Sample sites varied in terms of depth, substrate type, and current regime, and communities were locally variable across sites in terms of richness, abundance, and both taxonomic and functional composition. The most diverse family included the motile predator/scavenger Polynoidae, with 105 individuals in at least 12 morphospecies, primarily from a single site. This study provides first insights into diverse and spatially heterogeneous benthic communities in a dynamic habitat with continuing glacial influence, filling sampling gaps in a poorly studied region of the Southern Ocean at direct risk from climate change. These specimens will also be utilized in future molecular investigations, both in terms of describing the genetic biodiversity of this site and as part of wider phylogeographic and population genetic analyses assessing the connectivity, evolutionary origins, and demographic history of annelid fauna in the region.
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| 3. |
- Drennan, Regan, et al.
(författare)
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Neanthes goodayi sp. nov. (Annelida, Nereididae), a remarkable new annelid species living inside deep-sea polymetallic nodules
- 2021
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Ingår i: European Journal of Taxonomy. - : Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle. - 2118-9773. ; 760, s. 160-185
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A new species of abyssal Neanthes Kinberg, 1865, N. goodayi sp. nov., is described from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the central Pacific Ocean, a region targeted for seabed mineral exploration for polymetallic nodules. It is a relatively large animal found living inside polymetallic nodules and in xenophyophores (giant Foraminifera) growing on nodules, highlighting the importance of the mineral resource itself as a distinct microhabitat. Neanthes goodayi sp. nov. can be distinguished from its congeners primarily by its distinctive, enlarged anterior pair of eyes in addition to characters of the head, pharynx and parapodia. Widespread, abundant, and easily recognisable, N. goodayi sp. nov. is also considered to be a suitable candidate as a potential indicator taxon for future monitoring of the impacts of seabed mining.
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| 4. |
- Glover, Adrian G, et al.
(författare)
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Abyssal fauna of the UK-1 polymetallic nodule exploration claim, Clarion-Clipperton Zone, central Pacific Ocean: Echinodermata.
- 2016
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Ingår i: Biodiversity data journal. - 1314-2828. ; 4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present data from a DNA taxonomy register of the abyssal benthic Echinodermata collected as part of the Abyssal Baseline (ABYSSLINE) environmental survey cruise 'AB01' to the UK Seabed Resources Ltd (UKSRL) polymetallic-nodule exploration claim 'UK-1' in the eastern Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), central Pacific Ocean abyssal plain. Morphological and genetic data are presented for 17 species (4 Asteroidea, 4 Crinoidea, 2 Holothuroidea and 7 Ophiuroidea) identified by a combination of morphological and genetic data. No taxa matched previously published genetic sequences, but 8 taxa could be assigned to previously-described species based on morphology, although here we have used a precautionary approach in taxon assignments to avoid over-estimating species ranges. The Clarion-Clipperton Zone is a region undergoing intense exploration for potential deep-sea mineral extraction. We present these data to facilitate future taxonomic and environmental impact study by making both data and voucher materials available through curated and accessible biological collections.
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| 5. |
- Jones, Daniel O.B., et al.
(författare)
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Environment, ecology, and potential effectiveness of an area protected from deep-sea mining (Clarion Clipperton Zone, abyssal Pacific)
- 2021
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Ingår i: Progress in Oceanography. - : Elsevier BV. - 0079-6611. ; 197:September-October 2021
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To protect the range of habitats, species, and ecosystem functions in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a region of interest for deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining in the Pacific, nine Areas of Particular Environmental Interest (APEIs) have been designated by the International Seabed Authority (ISA). The APEIs are remote, rarely visited and poorly understood. Here we present and synthesise all available observations made at APEI-6, the most north eastern APEI in the network, and assess its representativity of mining contract areas in the eastern CCZ. The two studied regions of APEI-6 have a variable morphology, typical of the CCZ, with hills, plains and occasional seamounts. The seafloor is predominantly covered by fine-grained sediments, and includes small but abundant polymetallic nodules, as well as exposed bedrock. The oceanographic parameters investigated appear broadly similar across the region although some differences in deep-water mass separation were evident between APEI-6 and some contract areas. Sediment biogeochemistry is broadly similar across the area in the parameters investigated, except for oxygen penetration depth, which reached >2 m at the study sites within APEI-6, deeper than that found at UK1 and GSR contract areas. The ecology of study sites in APEI-6 differs from that reported from UK1 and TOML-D contract areas, with differences in community composition of microbes, macrofauna, xenophyophores and metazoan megafauna. Some species were shared between areas although connectivity appears limited. We show that, from the available information, APEI-6 is partially representative of the exploration areas to the south yet is distinctly different in several key characteristics. As a result, additional APEIs may be warranted and caution may need to be taken in relying on the APEI network alone for conservation, with other management activities required to help mitigate the impacts of mining in the CCZ.
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| 6. |
- Neal, Lenka, et al.
(författare)
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Abyssal fauna of polymetallic nodule exploration areas, eastern Clarion-Clipperton Zone, central Pacific Ocean: Annelida: Spionidae and Poecilochaetidae
- 2022
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Ingår i: MARINE BIODIVERSITY. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1867-1616 .- 1867-1624. ; 52:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper represents a continuation of taxonomic publications on the benthic fauna of polymetallic nodule fields in the eastern Clarion-lipperton Zone (CCZ) using material collected during baseline environmental survey work targeting two exploration contract areas ("UK-1" and "OMS") and one Area of Particular Environmental Interest, "APEI-6." Families Poecilochaetidae Hannerz, 1956 and Spionidae Grube, 1850 of the annelid suborder Spioniformia were studied here. Taxonomic data are presented for 25 species from 98 records as identified by a combination of morphological and genetic approaches. Although sub-optimal morphological condition can prevent new species being formally described, it is essential that morphological, molecular, and voucher data are made available for future surveys. Descriptions of two new species-Poecilochaetus brenkei sp. nov. and Laonice shulseae sp. nov.-increase the number of formally described new annelid species from the areas targeted in this study to 15 and CCZ-wide to 46. We also discuss the commonly reported "cosmopolitan" deep-sea spionid Aurospio dibranchiata Maciolek, 1981, which we show represents several genetically distinct species (three of these from CCZ area alone) but without reliable morphological characters to separate them. Molecular data provide evidence that 15 out of 25 species reported here have a wide distribution within the eastern CCZ and that Aurospio sp. "NHM_2186" and the known species Prionospio amarsupiata Neal & Altamira in Paterson et al. 2016 may be cosmopolitan. Lastly, the molecular data provide insights into relationships within Spioniformia, suggesting that both Poecilochaetidae and Trochochaetidae belong within Spionidae.
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| 7. |
- Neal, Lenka, et al.
(författare)
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Taxonomy, phylogeny, and biodiversity of Lumbrineridae (Annelida, Polychaeta) from the Central Pacific Clarion-Clipperton Zone.
- 2023
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Ingår i: ZooKeys. - 1313-2989. ; 1172, s. 61-100
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The DNA taxonomy of six species of the annelid family Lumbrineridae collected from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Central Pacific, an area of potential mining interest for polymetallic nodules, is presented. Lumbrinerids are an ecologically important and understudied annelid family within the deep sea, with many species still undescribed. This study aims to document the taxonomy and biodiversity of the CCZ using specimens collected from the UK-1, OMS, and NORI-D exploration contract areas and Areas of Particular Environmental Interest. Species were identified through a combination of morphological and molecular phylogenetic analysis. We present informal species descriptions associated with voucher specimens, accessible through the Natural History Museum (London) collections, to improve future taxonomic and biodiversity studies of this region. Five taxa in this study had no morphological or genetic matches within the literature and therefore are possibly new to science, but their suboptimal morphological preservation prevented the formalisation of new species. The most abundant taxon Lumbrineridescf.laubieri (NHM_0020) was compared with the holotype of Lumbrinerideslaubieri Miura, 1980 from the deep Northeast Atlantic. Currently no reliable morphological characters separating the Pacific and Atlantic specimens have been found and molecular data from the Atlantic specimens was not available.
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| 8. |
- Rabone, Muriel, et al.
(författare)
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How many metazoan species live in the world’s largest mineral exploration region?
- 2023
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Ingår i: Current Biology. - 0960-9822 .- 1879-0445. ; 33:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The global surge in demand for metals such as cobalt and nickel has created unprecedented interest in deep- sea habitats with mineral resources. The largest area of activity is a 6 million km2 region known as the Clarion- Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the central and eastern Pacific, regulated by the International Seabed Authority (ISA). Baseline biodiversity knowledge of the region is crucial to effective management of environmental impact from potential deep-sea mining activities, but until recently this has been almost completely lacking. The rapid growth in taxonomic outputs and data availability for the region over the last decade has allowed us to conduct the first comprehensive synthesis of CCZ benthic metazoan biodiversity for all faunal size classes. Here we present the CCZ Checklist, a biodiversity inventory of benthic metazoa vital to future assessments of environmental impacts. An estimated 92% of species identified from the CCZ are new to science (436 named species from a total of 5,578 recorded). This is likely to be an overestimate owing to synonyms in the data but is supported by analysis of recent taxonomic studies suggesting that 88% of species sampled in the region are undescribed. Species richness estimators place total CCZ metazoan benthic diversity at 6,233 (+/82 SE) species for Chao1, and 7,620 (+/132 SE) species for Chao2, most likely representing lower bounds of diver- sity in the region. Although uncertainty in estimates is high, regional syntheses become increasingly possible as comparable datasets accumulate. These will be vital to understanding ecological processes and risks of biodiversity loss.
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| 9. |
- Simon-Lledó, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Carbonate compensation depth drives abyssal biogeography in the northeast Pacific.
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature ecology & evolution. - 2397-334X. ; 7, s. 1388-97
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Abyssal seafloor communities cover more than 60% of Earth's surface. Despite their great size, abyssal plains extend across modest environmental gradients compared to other marine ecosystems. However, little is known about the patterns and processes regulating biodiversity or potentially delimiting biogeographical boundaries at regional scales in the abyss. Improved macroecological understanding of remote abyssal environments is urgent as threats of widespread anthropogenic disturbance grow in the deep ocean. Here, we use a new, basin-scale dataset to show the existence of clear regional zonation in abyssal communities across the 5,000km span of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (northeast Pacific), an area targeted for deep-sea mining. We found two pronounced biogeographic provinces, deep and shallow-abyssal, separated by a transition zone between 4,300 and 4,800m depth. Surprisingly, species richness was maintained across this boundary by phylum-level taxonomic replacements. These regional transitions are probably related to calcium carbonate saturation boundaries as taxa dependent on calcium carbonate structures, such as shelled molluscs, appear restricted to the shallower province. Our results suggest geochemical and climatic forcing on distributions of abyssal populations over large spatial scales and provide a potential paradigm for deep-sea macroecology, opening a new basis for regional-scale biodiversity research and conservation strategies in Earth's largest biome.
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| 10. |
- Stewart, Eva C.D., et al.
(författare)
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Biodiversity, biogeography, and connectivity of polychaetes in the world's largest marine minerals exploration frontier
- 2023
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Ingår i: Diversity and Distributions. - : Wiley. - 1366-9516 .- 1472-4642. ; 29:6, s. 727-47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: The abyssal Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), Pacific Ocean, is an area of commercial importance owing to the growing interest in mining high-grade polymetallic nodules at the seafloor for battery metals. Research into the spatial patterns of faunal diversity, composition, and population connectivity is needed to better understand the ecological impacts of potential resource extraction. Here, a DNA taxonomy approach is used to investigate regional-scale patterns of taxonomic and phylogenetic alpha and beta diversity, and genetic connectivity, of the dominant macrofaunal group (annelids) across a 6 million km2 region of the abyssal seafloor. Location: The abyssal seafloor (3932–5055 m depth) of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, equatorial Pacific Ocean. Methods: We used a combination of new and published barcode data to study 1866 polychaete specimens using molecular species delimitation. Both phylogenetic and taxonomic alpha and beta diversity metrics were used to analyse spatial patterns of biodiversity. Connectivity analyses were based on haplotype distributions for a subset of the studied taxa. Results: DNA taxonomy identified 291–314 polychaete species from the COI and 16S datasets respectively. Taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity between sites were relatively high and mostly explained by lineage turnover. Over half of pairwise comparisons were more phylogenetically distinct than expected based on their taxonomic diversity. Connectivity analyses in abundant, broadly distributed taxa suggest an absence of genetic structuring driven by geographical location. Main Conclusions: Species diversity in abyssal Pacific polychaetes is high relative to other deep-sea regions. Results suggest that environmental filtering, where the environment selects against certain species, may play a significant role in regulating spatial patterns of biodiversity in the CCZ. A core group of widespread species have diverse haplotypes but are well connected over broad distances. Our data suggest that the high environmental and faunal heterogeneity of the CCZ should be considered in future policy decisions.
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| 11. |
- Taboada, Sergi, et al.
(författare)
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Mitochondrial genome and polymorphic microsatellite markers from the abyssal sponge Plenaster craigi Lim & Wiklund, 2017: tools for understanding the impact of deep-sea mining
- 2018
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Ingår i: Marine Biodiversity. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1867-1616 .- 1867-1624. ; 48:1, s. 621-630
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2017, The Author(s). The abyssal demosponge Plenaster craigi is endemic to the Clarion - Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the NE Pacific, a region with abundant seafloor polymetallic nodules and of potential interest for mining. Plenaster craigi encrusts on these nodules and is an abundant component of the ecosystem. To assess the impact of mining operations, it is crucial to understand the genetics of this species, because its genetic diversity and connectivity across the area may be representative of other nodule-encrusting invertebrate epifauna. Here we describe and characterize 14 polymorphic microsatellite markers from this keystone species using Illumina MiSeq, tested for 75 individuals from three different areas across the CCZ, including an Area of Particular Environmental Interest (APEI-6) and two areas within the adjacent UK1 mining exploration area. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 30 (13.33 average alleles for all loci across areas). Observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.909–0.048 and from 0.954–0.255, respectively. Several loci displayed significant deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, which appears to be common in other sponge studies. The microsatellite loci described here will be used to assess the genetic structure and connectivity on populations of the sponge across the CCZ, which will be invaluable for monitoring the impact of mining operations on its habitat. Also, we provide the annotated mitochondrial genome of P. craigi, compare its arrangement with other closely related species, and discuss the phylogenetic framework for the sponge after Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference analyses using nucleotide and amino acid sequences data sets separately.
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| 12. |
- Thomassen Hestetun, Jon, et al.
(författare)
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Significant taxon sampling gaps in DNA databases limit the operational use of marine macrofauna metabarcoding
- 2020
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Ingår i: Marine Biodiversity. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1867-1616 .- 1867-1624. ; 50
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Significant effort is spent on monitoring of benthic ecosystems through government funding or indirectly as a cost of business, and metabarcoding of environmental DNA samples has been suggested as a possible complement or alternative to current morphological methods to assess biodiversity. In metabarcoding, a public sequence database is typically used to match barcodes to species identity, but these databases are naturally incomplete. The North Sea oil and gas industry conducts large-scale environmental monitoring programs in one of the most heavily sampled marine areas worldwide and could therefore be consid- ered a “best-case scenario” for macrofaunal metabarcoding. As a test case, we investigated the database coverage of two common metabarcoding markers, mitochondrial COI and the ribosomal rRNA 18S gene, for a complete list of 1802 macrofauna taxa reported from the North Sea monitoring region IV. For COI, species level barcode coverage was 50.4% in GenBank and 42.4% for public sequences in BOLD. For 18S, species level coverage was 36.4% in GenBank and 27.1% in SILVA. To see whether rare species were underrepresented, we investigated the most commonly reported species as a separate dataset but found only minor coverage increases. We conclude that compared to global figures, barcode coverage is high for this area, but that a significant effort remains to fill barcode databases to levels that would make metabarcoding operational as a taxonomic tool, including for the most common macrofaunal taxa.
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| 13. |
- Washburn, Travis, et al.
(författare)
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Patterns of macrofaunal biodiversity across the Clarion-Clipperton Zone: an area targeted for seabed mining
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-7745. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Macrofauna are an abundant and diverse component of abyssal benthic communities and are likely to be heavily impacted by polymetallic nodule mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ). In 2012, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) used available benthic biodiversity data and environmental proxies to establish nine no-mining areas, called Areas of Particular Environmental Interest (APEIs) in the CCZ. The APEIs were intended as a representative system of protected areas to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem function across the region from mining impacts. Since 2012, a number of research programs have collected additional ecological baseline data from the CCZ. We assemble and analyze macrofaunal biodiversity data sets from eight studies, focusing on three dominant taxa (Polychaeta, Tanaidacea, and Isopoda), and encompassing 477 box-core samples to address the following questions: (1) How do macrofaunal abundance, biodiversity, and community structure vary across the CCZ, and what are the potential ecological drivers? (2) How representative are APEIs of the nearest contractor areas? (3) How broadly do macrofaunal species range across the CCZ region? and (4) What scientific gaps hinder our understanding of macrofaunal biodiversity and biogeography in the CCZ? Our analyses led us to hypothesize that sampling efficiencies vary across macrofaunal data sets from the CCZ, making quantitative comparisons between studies challenging. Nonetheless, we found that macrofaunal abundance and diversity varied substantially across the CCZ, likely due in part to variations in particulate organic carbon (POC) flux and nodule abundance. Most macrofaunal species were collected only as singletons or doubletons, with additional species still accumulating rapidly at all sites, and with most collected species appearing to be new to science. Thus, macrofaunal diversity remains poorly sampled and described across the CCZ, especially within APEIs, where a total of nine box cores have been taken across three APEIs. Some common macrofaunal species ranged over 600–3000 km, while other locally abundant species were collected across ≤ 200 km. The vast majority of macrofaunal species are rare, have been collected only at single sites, and may have restricted ranges. Major impediments to understanding baseline conditions of macrofaunal biodiversity across the CCZ include: (1) limited taxonomic description and/or barcoding of the diverse macrofauna, (2) inadequate sampling in most of the CCZ, especially within APEIs, and (3) lack of consistent sampling protocols and efficiencies.
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| 14. |
- Ademuyiwa, Adesoji O., et al.
(författare)
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Determinants of morbidity and mortality following emergency abdominal surgery in children in low-income and middle-income countries
- 2016
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Ingår i: BMJ Global Health. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2059-7908. ; 1:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Child health is a key priority on the global health agenda, yet the provision of essential and emergency surgery in children is patchy in resource-poor regions. This study was aimed to determine the mortality risk for emergency abdominal paediatric surgery in low-income countries globally.Methods: Multicentre, international, prospective, cohort study. Self-selected surgical units performing emergency abdominal surgery submitted prespecified data for consecutive children aged <16 years during a 2-week period between July and December 2014. The United Nation's Human Development Index (HDI) was used to stratify countries. The main outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality, analysed by multilevel logistic regression.Results: This study included 1409 patients from 253 centres in 43 countries; 282 children were under 2 years of age. Among them, 265 (18.8%) were from low-HDI, 450 (31.9%) from middle-HDI and 694 (49.3%) from high-HDI countries. The most common operations performed were appendectomy, small bowel resection, pyloromyotomy and correction of intussusception. After adjustment for patient and hospital risk factors, child mortality at 30 days was significantly higher in low-HDI (adjusted OR 7.14 (95% CI 2.52 to 20.23), p<0.001) and middle-HDI (4.42 (1.44 to 13.56), p=0.009) countries compared with high-HDI countries, translating to 40 excess deaths per 1000 procedures performed.Conclusions: Adjusted mortality in children following emergency abdominal surgery may be as high as 7 times greater in low-HDI and middle-HDI countries compared with high-HDI countries. Effective provision of emergency essential surgery should be a key priority for global child health agendas.
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