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Elevated species diversity in abyssal gastropods off Newfoundland: the potential role of food supply

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Abstract

We compare species diversity and composition in a large sample of deep-sea gastropods collected off Newfoundland and the Grand Banks (4,400 m) to samples from the continental rise (3,806-3,834 m) and abyssal plain (4,680-4,970 m) south of New England. The sample from Newfoundland shares half its species with the fauna found south of New England, but is distinguished compositionally from both continental rise and abyssal communities. Species diversity off Newfoundland is similar to diversity at continental rise depths, but significantly higher than at abyssal depths south of New England. Elevated abyssal diversity off Newfoundland is associated with higher surface production and rates of particulate organic carbon flux to the seafloor, suggesting that food supply potentially plays an important role in regulating diversity at great depths.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jack Cook for drafting the illustrations, and Alexa MacPherson for helping to prepare the manuscript, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. This research was supported by grants from CeDAMar (Census of the Diversity of Abyssal Marine Life, a Division of Census of Marine Life), and the National Science Foundation (OCE-0135949 to M.A.R.).

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Author notes

  1. Derek P. Tittensor

    Present address: UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, CB3 0DL, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, 100 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA, 02125, USA

    Carol T. Stuart & Michael A. Rex

  2. Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4J1, Canada

    Derek P. Tittensor

  3. Department of Oceanography, University of Hawaii, 1000 Pope Road, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA

    Craig R. Smith

  4. Microsoft Research Computational Science Laboratory, Cambridge, CB3 0FB, UK

    Derek P. Tittensor

Authors
  1. Carol T. Stuart
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  2. Michael A. Rex
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  3. Derek P. Tittensor
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  4. Craig R. Smith
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Correspondence to Carol T. Stuart.

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Stuart, C.T., Rex, M.A., Tittensor, D.P. et al. Elevated species diversity in abyssal gastropods off Newfoundland: the potential role of food supply. Mar Biodiv 41, 537–544 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-011-0082-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-011-0082-3

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