Towards a greater understanding of pattern, scale and process in marine benthic systems: a picture is worth a thousand worms

• Historically, advances in our knowledge of benthic community structure and functioning have necessarily relied upon destructive sampling devices (grabs, cores, anchor dredges, etc.) that lose valuable contextual information in the process of sampling. In the last 40 years, instrumentation capable of measuring dynamic events and/or processes within and immediately above the seafloor has been developed that facilitates the collection of ecological information. Of these, both acoustic and optical imaging devices have played a significant role in revealing much about the physiology and behaviour of, and interactions between benthic species, and the sedimentary habitat in which they reside. While a number of reviews have separately considered the methodological and technical aspects of imaging technologies, the collective contribution that imaging has made to benthic ecology has received less attention. In this short review, we attempt to highlight key instances over the last 40 years where either acoustic or optical-based imaging techniques have provided new ecological insights and information about fine-grained sedimentary environments. In so doing, we focus on the ecological advances that have formed the precursor to current research efforts and introduce some of the latest revelations from appropriate and emerging imaging applications. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Ekologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Ecology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

acoustic

benthic

imaging

photography

sediment-water interface

video

seabed discrimination system

organism-sediment relations

northeast atlantic-ocean

eastern irish sea

deep-sea

in-situ

biogenic structures

demersal fishes

maxmuelleria-lankesteri

classification-system

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)