CROZEX and Benthic Crozet

The supply of food to the ocean floor and how animal community respond to variations in this supply of organic matter in space and time are key issues in oceanography. Changes in surface ocean phytoplankton growth patterns may be important control factors for changes in biodiversity on the deep-sea floor. These large-scale variations in phytoplankton communities may well be mirrored in seafloor animal populations. This relationship is not a simple one, understanding patterns of biodiversity in the deep sea and their link to surface ocean conditions remains a major challenge.

We studied two contrasting areas of surface phytoplankton growth around the Crozet Iles (Southern Indian Ocean). One with a strong annual phytoplankton bloom, the other with reduced phytoplankton growth.

This special issue of Deep-Sea Research II (2007, Volume 54, no.s 18-20) details the results of the CROZEX cruises (RRS Discovery cruises 285 and 286).

You can also see some of our initial seabed results here.

For more information visit the

CROZEX &

Benthic Crozet

websites.