Deep-Sea Benthos

Call for Papers

Remote, hidden, and inaccessible, we rely on deep-sea scientists using cutting-edge technology to discover the secrets of this last frontier on Earth. The waters and seabed areas below a depth of 200 metres correspond to 64 percent of the surface of the Earth and 90 percent of our planet's ocean area. The average ocean depth is 3730 metres, and 60 percent of the ocean floor lies deeper than 2000 metres. Marine benthic biodiversity is highest from around 1000 to 2000 metres water depth. Although only a tiny amount (0.0001 percent) of the deep seafloor has so far been subject to biological investigation, the results are remarkable: the bottom of the deep sea is not flat–it has canyons, abyssal plains, trenches, and seamounts that dwarf their terrestrial counterparts. The deep sea is not a uniform environment with stable conditions and very little environmental change, but can be highly dynamic through space and time, nor an inhospitable, lifeless desert but teems with an amazing array of organisms of all sizes and types. Indeed, it is believed to have the highest and undiscovered biodiversity on Earth.

In this special issue, we will explore the deep-sea benthos; their study has revealed that the fauna is as varied, complex, and highly diverse as the seafloor it is occupying. Some stretches of seafloor, especially on the abyssal plains, seem to be sparsely populated by interspersed macrobenthos and meiofauna (which account for more than 90 percent of total faunal abundance), whereas other areas can teem with life. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Taxonomy
• Systematics
• Faunistics
• Ecosystems
• Anthropogenic impacts

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jmb/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable:

Lead Guest Editor

• Kai Horst George, German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research (DZMB), Südstrand 44, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany

Guest Editors

• Nils Brenke, German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research (DZMB), Südstrand 44, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
• Nataliya Budaeva, P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology Russian Academy of Sciences, Nakhimovsky Pr. 36, Moscow 117997, Russia
• Javier Cristobo, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Gijón, Avenida Principe de Asturias 70 bis, Asturias, 33212 Gijón, Spain
• Maria Miljutina, German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research (DZMB), Südstrand 44, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany