Cold seep epifaunal communities on the Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand : composition, succession, and vulnerability to human activities

Notes how cold seep communities with distinctive chemoautotrophic fauna occur where hydrocarbon-rich fluids escape from the seabed. Describes community composition, population densities, spatial extent, and within-region variability of epifaunal communities at methane-rich cold seep sites on the Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand. Uses data from towed camera transects to match observations to information about the probable life-history characteristics of the principal fauna to develop a hypothetical succession sequence for the Hikurangi seep communities, from the onset of fluid flux to senescence. Notes how the seep sites are subject to disturbance from bottom trawling at present and potentially from gas hydrate extraction in future. Source: National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, licensed by the Department of Internal Affairs for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand Licence.