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Effects of environmental and climatic drivers on abyssal macrobenthic infaunal communities from the NE Pacific nodule province

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Abstract

The macrofauna in soft sediments of the deep seafloor is generally diverse and represents a comparatively well-studied faunal group of deep-sea ecosystems. In the abyss of the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ) in the NE Pacific, macrofauna are major contributors to benthic biodiversity. Their distribution, composition, and diversity have been frequently investigated to assess the potential impacts of future mining activities on the resident fauna. In this study, patterns of densities and community structure of CCFZ macrobenthic infauna and their relationships with a range of environmental and climatic variables were examined, with a special focus on communities from the eastern German contract area (referred to as BGR CA). However, comparisons were also made with other contractor areas (e.g., IFREMER, IOM, GSR) and one Area of Particular Environmental Interest (APEI3). Material for this study was obtained by means of a box corer during six expeditions to the CCFZ between 2013 and 2018 resulting in 148 samples. Our study uncovered notable spatial and temporal variations in both faunal densities and community composition. While areas within the BGR CA exhibited a similar community composition, slight differences were observed between the various CAs and APEI3. Surprisingly, we found an unexpected negative correlation between food availability and both macrofaunal density and community structure that may be attributed to differences in sampling methodologies and pronounced temporal variation. Furthermore, we explored the impact of climatic fluctuations associated with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on macrofaunal densities, observing an increase during warm (El Niño) events. Our findings underscore the challenges of accurately assessing spatial and temporal variations in the absence of standardised sampling protocols. Hence, we emphasize the importance of adopting standardised protocols to enhance data comparability, thereby fostering a deeper understanding of the underlying factors influencing spatial and temporal changes in macrofauna community structure within the CCFZ.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the masters, nautical officers, and all crew members and participants of RV Sonne (SO239, SO240, SO262) and RV Kilo Moana (KM13, KM14, KM16) expeditions. We particularly thank Annika Janssen and Katja Uhlenkott (both DZMB) for their great support and sample management. The authors are grateful to the NOAA/ESRL Physical Sciences Laboratory for providing direct data and information about ENSO. We thank the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments that greatly helped in improving the manuscript.

Funding

Funding has been received from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as a contribution to the European projects JPI Oceans “MiningImpact” (under contract 03F0707E) and the FLUM (SO240) project (under contract 03G0240A-D). The MANGAN expeditions (KM13, KM14, KM16, SO262) including faunal analysis of sampled material were funded solely by the BGR. Macrofaunal analysis of samples from the SO239 expedition was funded by Ifremer.

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Author notes

  1. Stefanie Kaiser

    Present address: Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Senckenberganlage 25, Frankfurt, 60325, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INES Integrated Environmental Solutions UG, c/o DZMB, Südstrand 44, Wilhelmshaven, 26382, Germany

    Stefanie Kaiser, Terue C. Kihara & Pedro Martinez Arbizu

  2. Independent researcher, Brest, France

    Paulo Bonifácio

  3. Ifremer, UMR Biologie Et Ecologie Des Ecosystèmes Marins Profonds (BEEP), University Brest, ZI de la Pointe du Diable, Plouzané, CS, 10070, 29280, France

    Lenaick Menot

  4. Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR), Stilleweg 2, Hannover, 30655, Germany

    Annemiek Vink

  5. German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research (DZMB), Senckenberg am Meer, Südstrand 44, Wilhelmshaven, 26382, Germany

    Ann-Kathrin Wessels & Pedro Martinez Arbizu

  6. Fakultät V, AG Marine Biodiversitätsforschung, IBU, University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstraße 114–118, Oldenburg, 26129, Germany

    Ann-Kathrin Wessels & Pedro Martinez Arbizu

Authors
  1. Stefanie Kaiser
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stefanie Kaiser.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

No approval of research ethics committees was required to accomplish the goals of this study because experimental work was conducted with an unregulated invertebrate species.

Sampling and field studies

All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies have been obtained by the authors from the competent authorities and are mentioned in the “Acknowledgements” section, if applicable.

Data availability

All faunal data generated or analysed during this study are made available via Pangaea (https://doi.pangaea.de/https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.887207?format=html#lcol16_ds13380747) for SO239 or the ISA Deep Seabed and Ocean Database (DeepData; http://data.isa.org.jm) for the remaining data sets.

Author contribution

SK and PB conducted the data analysis; SK wrote the manuscript with the help of all co-authors; AW, TCK, and LM helped with data generation; AV and PMA conceived and designed the research. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Additional information

Communicated by N. Sánchez

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This article is a contribution to the Topical Collection Biodiversity in Abyssal Polymetallic Nodule Areas.

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Kaiser, S., Bonifácio, P., Kihara, T.C. et al. Effects of environmental and climatic drivers on abyssal macrobenthic infaunal communities from the NE Pacific nodule province. Mar. Biodivers. 54, 35 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-024-01427-7

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