Distribution and Genetic Divergence of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Copepods (Dirivultidae: Siphonostomatoida: Copepoda) in the Northwestern Pacific

Abstract

Copepods are abundant animals in marine ecosystems, both as plankton and benthos. Their community dynamics are thought to be correlated with environmental variables, even in remote environments such as the deep-sea floor, and they have been used to predict how the ecosystem might shift with climate change (Zeppilli et al., 2015). However, little is known about how much the ecology of different species varies, particularly those inhabiting the deep ocean, which comprises over 90% of the marine ecosystem in volume.