Functional diversity of macrozoobenthos under adverse oxygen conditions in the southern Baltic Sea

Oxygen deficiency is a major problem in the Baltic Sea. To study the impact of hypoxia on the functional diversity of benthic fauna and the possibility of macrozoobenthos recovery, data were analyzed in a gradient of oxygen conditions in the Gdańsk Basin. The research conducted on the basis of biological traits analysis enabled us to analyze the number, type and spatial distribution of biological traits-a proxy for functions performed by macrozoobenthos. A significant depletion of macrofauna was already observed under conditions of reduced oxygen above the bottom, both in terms of functional diversity and biomass. Although taxa observed in hypoxia (DO < 2 mL L