Workshop on large-scale patterns in bathyal free-living nematodes

Sharing 60 datasets, the 25 participants in the workshop developed consensus on major nematode distribution, abundance and diversity patterns at the generic level. Preliminary results show that the first order discrimination for nematode communities is their geographical location, which can be largely explained by variations in densities and ultimately primary production. The diversity of nematodes varies from one ocean to another. Basin age appears to be a factor with the SW Atlantic and the W. Indian Ocean having higher diversity than younger basins like the NE Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. At habitat-scale, communities associated with corals, canyons and seeps have been analysed and found to harbour distinct assemblages. The diversity is higher on corals followed by canyons, while the diversity at seeps is low.