OXYGEN MINIMUM ZONE BENTHOS: ADAPTATION AND COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO HYPOXIA

Mid-water oxygen minima (0.5ml l1 dissolved O2) intercept the continental margins along much of the eastern Pacific Ocean, off west Africa and in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, creating extensive stretches of sea floor exposed to permanent, severe oxygen depletion. These seafloor oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) typically occur at bathyal depths between 200m and 1000m, and are major sites of carbon burial along the continental margins. Despite extreme oxygen depletion, protozoan and metazoan assemblages thrive in these environments. Metazoan adaptations include small, thin bodies, enhanced respiratory surface area, blood pigments such as haemoglobin, biogenic structure formation for stability in soupy sediments,…