New perceptions of continrntal margin biodiversity

Abstract

The deep ocean is a hostile and challenging environment. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the continental slopes. The complexity of the slope and the unforgiving nature of the seabed has until recently limited the exploration of continental margins to major marine laboratories in developed countries. Such studies shaped our original, sometimes naïve, conceptions of what lives on these steep depth gradients even though we perceived the deep environment from afar and at a poor resolution. Progress in margin studies has been so rapid that the COMARGE project was initiated to solidify old and pursue new knowledge on margin ecosystems.Through a network of a hundred of scientists, COMARGE acted as a catalyst to tackle these issues and undertake global analyses. This chapter intends to summarize the progress made so far in each of the three topics addressed by COMARGE, and for each of them, underline the major unknowns that may guide future research on continental margins during the next decade.