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Abstract A BIODIVERSITY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE DEEP SOUTHERN OCEAN BENTHOS Angelika Brandt The deep Southern Ocean is characterised by a very deep shelf and an almost isothermal water column. Much of the deep water in the World Ocean originates in the Weddell Sea. These features suggest that deep-sea faunas around the Antarctic may be related both to adjacent shelf communities and to those in other oceans. However, despite its scientific importance, little is known about life in this vast region. Three recent ANDEEP expeditions collected organisms and environmental data at 40 stations between 748-6348 m water depth, increasing known biodiversity substantially and discovering many new species. Evidence is emerging that Southern Ocean deep-water faunas are linked to both adjacent shelf and other ocean basin assemblages. This linkage is complex and varies between taxa. Even though we are only beginning to understand the patterns and scale of Southern Ocean biodiversity, we now want to understand some forces that drive biodiversity and biogeographic patterns. We want to understand the function of biodiversity, the role of rare and abundant species. ANDEEP-SYSTCO (ANtarctic benthicDEEP-sea biodiversity: colonisation history and recent community patterns – SYSTem COupling) is an ambitious programme which builds on the ANDEEP results and is designed to study processes in different realms of the biosphere in Antarctica and uncover how these systems are linked to each other (atmospheric-pelagic-benthic coupling processes). SYSTCO will help to understand the role of the Southern Ocean in global energy budgets, climate change, and the maintenance of the diversity of marine life on the Blue Planet.
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