Ocean-scale patterns of ‘biodiversity’ of Atlantic asteroids determined from taxonomic distinctness and other measures

We examine patterns of ‘gamma’ (within-rcgion) and ‘beta’ (between-region) diversity from analysis of a presence/absence dataset for species of asteroids encompassing the whole Atlantic Ocean partitioned into 26 regions. Absolute species numbers (a poor measure of biodiversity) in shallow coastal areas and the deep sea are the same, although species richness per area for two well-sampled regions suggests, qualitatively, that coastal areas may be more speciose. Taxonomic distinctness (A*), an index which is markedly less sample-size dependent than other common diversity measures, shows no significant association with geographic area and no clear pattern with depth, suggesting an absence of latitudinal and coastal/deep trends. Cluster analysis shows that distinctive faunal assemblages are most evident in shelf/ shallow waters, where six groupings separate recognizably acccording to geographical location. Three of these arc the southernmost regions of the Atlantic (southeast of S. America, S. Angola/S. Africa & Tristan da Cunha/Gough Island) and arc characterized by their isolation and high levels of endemism. As depth increases so does the amount of faunal similarity between regions. This indicates that beta diversity is highest in shelf regions and lowest in lower bathyal/abyssal regions. Our results may support the contention which questions the emerging paradigm that the deep sea has exceptionally high diversity. It is evident, however, that comparisons (e.g. between coasts and the deep sea) are problematic and can depend very much on the element(s) of biodiversity measured, sampling methods and the spatial scales (e.g. alpha, beta or gamma diversity) over which assessment is made. Any wider conclusions should therefore be drawn cautiously, particularly since assessment is made of only one faunal group. Other findings include significant correlation between the depth range of asteroids and their geographical range. The utility of low-resolution datasets is reviewed. It is concluded that within limitations they can be of value for determining broad (e.g. regional, ocean-scale and global-scale) patterns of diversity and community structure, especially when analysed using measures relatively uninfluenced by sample size.