Nematode assemblages of deep-sea and shelf break sites in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea

The nematode community structure of several shelf break and deep-sea stations in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean is compared using data from the literature. Samples from 2 Mediterranean deep-sea canyons have a unique fauna of predatory and scavenging nematodes (e.g. Synonchiella, Halichoanolairnus, Gammanerna) which comprise some 20 to 30% of the community, while some of the typical deep-sea genera (Therjstus, Acantholaimus) are only marginally present. The nematode generic composition of the other sites reveals a gentle transition from the shelf break (Bay of Biscay; Mediterranean) over the slope (Me&terranean) towards the continental rise, abyssal plain and hadal depths (Bay of Biscay, Puerto Rico Trench, HEBBLE site, Hatteras Abyssal Plain). At all these sites predators and omnivores are less abundant (