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The need for a comprehensive and standardised ocean biogeographic framework is rising as the urgency to protect and conserve biodiversity from the deep sea is becoming an increasing priority. In order to determine where management resources should be focused, we need to be able to establish the distribution of vulnerable and unique faunal communities, which can be done by creating a global biogeographic framework. With such a framework, it will be possible to enhance sampling efforts in bathyal regions and ensure a better understanding of bathyal biodiversity and trends in biodiversity change. This study, published in Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, proposes a revised biogeographic framework of the lower bathyal zone, based on the occurrence and distribution of cnidarian anthozoans. Anthozoan distribution records were accumulated from OBIS by filtering records by bathyal depth (700–3000 m) and from October 2019 onwards. Additionally, expeditions with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) collected distribution records of octocorals. Using the bathyal provinces proposed by a previous publication (Watling et al. 2013 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2012.11.003) and applying an Infomap Bioregions network analysis, authors were able to create a revised biogeographic framework of the bathyal zones while providing the first global analysis of the benthic fauna of the lower bathyal. Moreover, this faunal analysis indicated a surprisingly high level of endemism (at least 33%) for all bathyal provinces where sufficient faunal data is available.
Reference: Watling, L., & Lapointe, A. (2022). Global biogeography of the lower bathyal (700–3000 m) as determined from the distributions of cnidarian anthozoans. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 103703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2022.103703