Abstract
The proposed project, which is a part of the international MAR-ECO initiative, aims at investigating how hydrographic (ocean currents, depths) and topographic (sea mounts and ridges) features interplay with life-history characteristics (e.g., demersal vs. pelagic) in shaping he popolation structure and spatial distibution of biodiversity in deep-sea fishes. Overexploitation by shallow water fisheries in later years has led to an increased interest in deep-sea resources. However, deep-sea fisheries have often proved to be unsustainable after a short while, indicating that deep-sea fishes may respond different to harvesting than most shallow-water fishes. Plausible causes for this difference include slow growth and low productivity of deep-sea fishes, and possibly that popoulations are more confined geographically beacause of the sedentary nature of most species and restrictions on movement imposed by the physical environment. Because little if anything is known on population structure in deep-sea fishes, competing hypotheses abound, and we propose a comparative genetic study, based on statistically powerful microsatellite DNA anlyses, to quantifying biodiversity patterns and population substructure in five key deep-sea fishes along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and in adjacent continental slope waters. Using such a comparative approach, we will delineate the various mechanisms that are important for shaping populations structure in these and other deep-sea fishes.
Norway