Abstract
The megabenthos plays an important role in the abyssal ecosystem. The holothuroids have been proposed as indicators of physical disturbance of the seabed caused, for example, by commercial deep‐sea mining of manganese nodules. Environmental studies at seabed mining claims have resulted in numerous still photographs that provide an overview of the megabenthos in manganese nodule fields. Data from these investigations and from the large‐scale disturbance and recolonization experiment DISCOL have been used to summarize knowledge of the taxonomy and ecology of holothurians at manganese nodule sites.