Meiobenthic community structure in the deep-sea bed of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone of the northeastern Pacific

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the community structure and distributional pattern of meiofauna in the deep-sea bottom of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone of the northeastern Pacific in July 2001, July 2003 and August 2004. Meiobenthic samples were collected using the multiple corer at 33 stations. A total of 10 meiofaunal groups were found in the study area. The most abundant meiobenthos was nematodes and followed by benthic foraminiferans, harpacticoid copepods.