Deep‐sea corals and sponges form ecologically significant habitats that support biodiversity hotspots and contribute to important ecosystem functions such as carbon and nutrient cycling as well as benthic‐pelagic coupling. However, quantifying their contributions to ecosystem functioning requires examination not only of the fine spatial distribution of community composition but also community size structure, because larger ind...

iKaluk, Inuttitut for Arctic charr ( Salvelinus alpinus ), holds significant commercial and cultural value for Inuit communities throughout Nunatsiavut. Studies evaluating iKaluk habitat associations in freshwater are plentiful; however, there is limited information on the ecological makeup and sediment characteristics of anadromous charr habitats in marine environments. This study investigated the benthic associations of Arct...

Benthic species assemblages are groups of species that co-occur on the seafloor. Linking assemblages to physical environmental features allows for understanding and predicting their spatial distribution. Species identity and abundance are commonly quantified using a taxonomic approach to assess benthic diversity, yet functional traits that describe the behavior, life history, and morphology of a species may be equally or more...

The Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone (CGFZ) is a prominent geological feature offsetting the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR), consisting of two parallel fractures, creating a highly variable seafloor bathymetry. It has been defined as the most important latitudinal biodiversity transitional zone on the MAR. Despite this recognition, the faunal communities living on the fracture zone have not been extensively described. A remotely operated...

Coral cover on Caribbean reefs has declined rapidly since the early 1980's. Diseases have been a major driver, decimating communities of framework building Acropora and Orbicella coral species, and reportedly leading to the emergence of novel coral assemblages often dominated by domed and plating species of the genera Agaricia , Porites and Siderastrea . These corals were not historically important Caribbean framework builders...