Deep-sea biology: a natural history of organisms at the deep-sea floor

Abstract

Introduction Part I. The Development of Deep-Sea Biology, The Physical Environment and Methods of Study: 1. Historical aspects 2. The physical environment of the deep-sea 3. Methods of study of the organisms of the deep-sea floor Part II. Organisms of the Deep-Sea Benthic Boundary: 4. The megafauna 5. Smaller animals Part III. Patterns in Space: 6. Small-scale spatial patterns 7. Abundance and size structure of the deep-sea benthos 8. The diversity gradient 9. Depth-related patterns in community composition 10. Zoogeography, speciation and the origins of deep-sea fauna Part IV. Processes Patterns in Time: 11. Food resources, energetics and feeding strategies 12. Metabolic processes: microbial ecology at the deep-sea bed 13. Reproduction, recruitment and growth of deep-sea organisms 14. Animal sediment relations in the deep-sea Part V. Parallel Systems and Anthropogenic Effects: 15. Deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seeps 16. Anthropogenic impacts: man's effects on the deep-sea.