Amon Diva J, Ziegler Amanda F, Kremenetskaia Antonina, Mah Christopher L, Mooi Rich, O'Hara Tim, Pawson David L, Roux Michel, Smith Craig R
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, United States of America.
P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Moscow, Russia.
Biodivers Data J. 2017 May 11(5):e11794. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.5.e11794. eCollection 2017.
There is growing interest in mining polymetallic nodules from the abyssal Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Despite being the focus of environmental studies for decades, the benthic megafauna of the CCZ remain poorly known. In order to predict and manage the environmental impacts of mining in the CCZ, baseline knowledge of the megafauna is essential. The ABYSSLINE Project has conducted benthic biological baseline surveys in the UK Seabed Resources Ltd polymetallic-nodule exploration contract area (UK-1). Prior to these research cruises in 2013 and 2015, no biological studies had been done in this area of the eastern CCZ.
Using a Remotely Operated Vehicle and Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, the megafauna within the UKSRL exploration contract area (UK-1) and at a site ~250 km east of the UK-1 area were surveyed, allowing us to make the first estimates of megafaunal morphospecies richness from the imagery collected. Here, we present an atlas of the abyssal echinoderm megafauna observed and collected during the ABYSSLINE cruises to the UK-1 polymetallic-nodule exploration contract area in the CCZ. There appear to be at least 62 distinct morphospecies (13 Asteroidea, 5 Crinoidea, 9 Echinoidea, 29 Holothuroidea and 6 Ophiuroidea) identified mostly by imagery but also using molecular barcoding for a limited number of animals that were collected. This atlas will aid the synthesis of megafaunal presence/absence data collected by contractors, scientists and other stakeholders undertaking work in the CCZ, ultimately helping to decipher the biogeography of the megafauna in this threatened habitat.
从热带太平洋的深海克拉里昂-克利珀顿区（CCZ）开采多金属结核正引发越来越多的关注。尽管数十年来一直是环境研究的重点，但CCZ的底栖大型动物仍然鲜为人知。为了预测和管理CCZ采矿对环境的影响，掌握大型动物的基线知识至关重要。ABYSSLINE项目已在英国海底资源有限公司多金属结核勘探合同区（UK-1）开展了底栖生物基线调查。在2013年和2015年的这些研究航次之前，CCZ东部的这一区域尚未进行过生物学研究。
利用遥控潜水器和自主水下航行器，对英国海底资源有限公司勘探合同区（UK-1）以及UK-1区以东约250公里处的一个地点的大型动物进行了调查，使我们能够根据收集到的图像首次估算大型动物形态物种的丰富度。在此，我们展示了在ABYSSLINE航次前往CCZ的UK-1多金属结核勘探合同区期间观察和收集到的深海棘皮动物大型动物图谱。通过图像识别，同时对少量采集到的动物使用分子条形码技术，似乎至少确定了62个不同的形态物种（13种海星纲、5种海百合纲、9种海胆纲、29种海参纲和6种蛇尾纲）。这本图谱将有助于综合承包商、科学家和在CCZ开展工作的其他利益相关者收集的大型动物存在/不存在数据，最终有助于解读这一受威胁栖息地中大型动物的生物地理学。
