Macrobenthic biodiversity and sea floor landscape structure

Ascertaining the patterns and determinants of soft-sediment biodiversity is critical to our overall understanding of coastal and marine processes. Studies of diversity in the deep sea and neritic waters have largely focused on levels of species diversity, differences in these levels along depth and geographic gradients, and how environmental characteristics within and among different geographic areas may drive the differences and patterns found. Among the environmental characteristics examined, habitat structure and heterogeneity have been identified as potentially playing a key role they play in shaping biodiversity patterns. Although habitat-related factors such as sediment characteristics have always been considered, it has been in the absence of any quantified benthic landscape framework. A benthic landscape, or benthoscape, is comprised of a set of patches that are repeated over a kilometers -wide area. Such patches have within-patch structure and in soft-sediments are often defined by their geophysical characteristics, although distinct biotic patches also can comprise a benthoscape. Benthoscapes contain the habitats that generate and support soft-sediment species diversity, and these habitats indeed are a component of overall biodiversity. Although, the study of benthoscape structure and dynamics is only now emerging, marrying this with research on biodiversity patterns will move our understanding of both forward. A landscape framework would provide a quantitative spatial context for analyses of biodiversity at multiple scales and can help resolve how habitat heterogeneity and structure affect biodiversity in soft-sediment environments. Such information may substantively help in sea floor management and conservation. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.