Global ecosystem typology

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M3.2 Submarine canyons

Biome: M3. Deep sea floors biome

Contributors:
(texts)

Submarine canyons house some of the most productive and diverse deep sea ecosystems. They can disrupt local currents and channel nutrients from the continental shelves into ocean basins. The flux of nutrients promotes productivity, with high densities of burrowing organisms can live in muddy or sandy bottoms, and filter feeders like cold-water corals inhabit the rocky walls. Canyons provide important shelter, spawning and nursery areas and feeding grounds for many organisms including non-resident megafauna like whales.

Key Features

Dinamics and heterogenous geomorphic features,  supporting highly diverse heterotrophic communities through enhaced transport of energy from the continents to the deep sea..

Overview of distribution

Submarine canyons incising continental margins globally.

Profile versions

  • v1.0 (2020-01-20): UC Fernandez-Arcaya; E Ramirez-Llodra; DA Keith
  • v2.0 (2020-05-28): UC Fernandez de Arcaya; E Ramirez-Llodra; DA Keith
  • v2.01 ():
  • v2.1 (2022-04-06): UC Fernandez de Arcaya; E Ramirez-Llodra; DA Keith Full profile available at official site

Main references

Selected references for this functional group:

  • Fernandez-Arcaya U, Ramirez-Llodra E, Aguzzi J, Allcock AL, Davies JS, Dissanayake A, Harris P, Howell K, Huvenne VA, Macmillan-Lawler M, Martín J (2017) Ecological role of submarine canyons and need for canyon conservation: a review Frontiers in Marine Science 4: 5

Diagrammatic assembly model

Diagrammatic assembly model of M3.2 Submarine canyons. See general notes on diagrams. Open image full size.

Maps

Maps are indicative of global distribution patterns are not intended to represent fine-scale patterns. The maps show areas of the world containing major (coloured red) or minor occurrences (coloured yellow) of each ecosystem functional group. See general notes on maps.

There are 2 alternative versions of the indicative map for this functional group, please compare description and sources below.

M3.2.IM.orig_v1.0

Datasets

  • GSFM-2014

Map references

  • Harris PT, Macmillan-Lawler M, Rupp J, Baker EK (2014) Geomorphology of the oceans. Marine Geology 352: 4-24. 10.1016/j.margeo.2014.01.011

M3.2.web.orig_v1.0

Major occurrences of submarine canyons was based on the ‘canyons’ geomorphic unit of Harris et al. (2014b). Occurrences were converted to 30 arc second spatial resolution. Open image full size.

Datasets

  • GSFM-2014

Map references

  • Harris PT, Macmillan-Lawler M, Rupp J, Baker EK (2014) Geomorphology of the oceans. Marine Geology 352: 4-24. 10.1016/j.margeo.2014.01.011

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