Invertebrate animals living at the seafloor make up a prominent component of life globally, spanning 10 orders of magnitude in body size over 71% of Earth's surface. However, integrating information across sizes and sampling methodologies has limited our understanding of the influence of natural variation, climate change and human activity. Here, we outline maturing practices that can underpin both the feasibility and impact of establishing Benthic Invertebrate Abundance and Distribution as a Global Ocean Observing System—Essential Ocean Variable, including: (1) quantifying individual body size, (2) identifying the well-quantified portions of sampled body-size spectra, (3) taking advantage of (semi-)automated information processing, (4) application of metadata standards such as Darwin Core, and (5) making data available through internationally recognized access points. These practices enable broader-scale analysis supporting research and sustainable development, such as assessments of indicator taxa, biodiversity, biomass, and the modeling of carbon stocks and flows that are contiguous over time and space.

中文翻译：

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整合不同体型的海洋观测，提供底栖无脊椎动物丰度和分布信息

生活在海底的无脊椎动物是全球生命的重要组成部分，其体型大小达 10 个数量级，占地球表面的 71% 以上。然而，整合不同规模和采样方法的信息限制了我们对自然变化、气候变化和人类活动影响的理解。在这里，我们概述了成熟的实践，这些实践可以支持将底栖无脊椎动物丰度和分布建立为全球海洋观测系统——基本海洋变量的可行性和影响，包括：(1) 量化个体体型，(2) 确定充分量化的个体体型。采样的身体尺寸光谱的部分，（3）利用（半）自动信息处理，（4）元数据标准的应用，例如达尔文核心，(5) 通过国际公认的接入点提供数据。这些实践使得能够支持研究和可持续发展的更广泛的分析成为可能，例如指标类群、生物多样性、生物量的评估以及在时间和空间上连续的碳储量和流量的建模。