Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Deep-Sea Environments and Ecology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1395892
This article is part of the Research Topic Environmental Impacts & Risks of Deep-Sea Mining: Recommendations for Exploitation Regulations View all 8 articles

Macrobenthic communities in the polymetallic nodule field, Indian Ocean based on multicore and box core analysis

Provisionally accepted
Santosh P. Gaikwad Santosh P. Gaikwad 1Sabyasachi Sautya Sabyasachi Sautya 1*Samir R. Damare Samir R. Damare 1,2Maria L. Brenda Maria L. Brenda 1,2Vijayshree Gawas Vijayshree Gawas 1,2Jayesh Patil Jayesh Patil 1,2Mandar Nanajkar Mandar Nanajkar 1,2Sadiq Bukhari Sadiq Bukhari 3
  • 1 National Institute of Oceanography, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dona Paula, India
  • 2 National Institute of Oceanography, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dona Paula, Goa, India
  • 3 Jamal Mohamed College, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Managing deep-sea mining is challenging due to limited data on species and habitat distribution, hindering decision-making. In less-explored polymetallic nodule sites in the Indian Ocean, management approaches are deemed unfeasible due to substantial lack of data. In this study, we aim to bridge the knowledge gap through a detailed analysis of the macrobenthos (fauna > 300 µm) obtained with two sampling gears (multi-and box corer), in potential impact, preservation and reference zones in Central Indian Ocean Basin. In total, 337 individuals were categorized into 106 morphospecies and 18 higher taxa . The lowest abundance was reported in the box corer. Nematodes and copepods dominated the macrobenthos community, whereas polychaetes and tanaidaceans were the more prevalent macrofaunal taxa. Carbohydrates and total organic carbon showed a notable positive correlation with polychaetes, isopods, and bivalves, indicating their influence on larger-sized taxa. Various functional traits i.e., less motile, discretely motile, biodiffusors and upward/downward conveyers were dominant in the study area. The comparative analysis of multi-and box corer sampling reveals distinct patterns in macrobenthic diversity, emphasizing the importance of employing both gears for accurate functional analysis. The paper underscores the significance of including large meiofaunal taxa in macrofauna analyses for assessing deep-sea ecosystem functioning and services. Additionally, the findings contribute significantly to environmental baseline and impact assessment, a crucial aspect of sustainable management in a highly promising polymetallic nodule mining area, aligning with the goals of exploring.

    Keywords: Macrobenthos, Biodiversity, Sampling comparison, deep sea, Ecology 1

    Received: 04 Mar 2024; Accepted: 12 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Gaikwad, Sautya, Damare, Brenda, Gawas, Patil, Nanajkar and Bukhari. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Sabyasachi Sautya, National Institute of Oceanography, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dona Paula, India

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.