Abstract The distribution of organisms is related to both environmental factors and interactions between organisms. However, such associations between organisms across an abyssal megafaunal community have not previously been investigated at landscape scale because of a lack of positional data on specimens over such scales. We quantified spatial distributions and investigated interspecific associations in benthic megafaunal communities in three contrasting habitats on the Porcupine Abyssal Plain, two on the abyssal plain and one on the flank of a modest abyssal hill (~50 m above the plain). We used a Bayesian Network Inference Algorithm approach, which considers the ecosystem as a network, facilitated by robust positioning of specimens determined through seabed photography captured with an autonomous underwater vehicle. We found non-random intraspecific distributions of most morphotypes in all areas. The organisms in two interspecific networks on the abyssal plain had high connectance and link density, while the network at the Hill site was notable in the lack of inter-dependencies and highly dependent on one morphotype – Ophiuroidea. The reduced connectance of the hill community suggests that it is operating under a different regime and potentially more vulnerable to perturbation than those on the plain. Interspecific dependencies on the abyssal plain occurred across broad taxonomic groupings, and were thought to be a result of similar relationships between pairs of organisms and the substrate, and competition for detrital resource. In addition, some intraspecific pairs changed dependency direction at different scales. Our results suggest that the scales of inter- and intraspecific aggregation will be important considerations in the design of community assessments, and in spatial planning for their conservation.

中文翻译：

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对深海底栖巨型动物种间关联的首次网络分析揭示了深海丘陵群落的潜在脆弱性

摘要 生物的分布既与环境因素有关，也与生物之间的相互作用有关。然而，由于缺乏这种尺度上标本的位置数据，以前没有在景观尺度上研究过深海巨型动物群落中生物之间的这种关联。我们量化了空间分布并调查了豪猪深海平原三个对比鲜明的栖息地的底栖巨型动物群落的种间关联，两个在深海平原，一个在中等深海丘陵（平原上方约 50 m）的侧面。我们使用了贝叶斯网络推理算法方法，该方法将生态系统视为一个网络，通过自动水下航行器捕获的海底摄影确定的标本的稳健定位来促进。我们在所有地区发现了大多数形态类型的非随机种内分布。深海平原的两个种间网络中的生物具有较高的联系和链接密度，而希尔站点的网络以缺乏相互依赖性和高度依赖一种形态型 - Ophiuroidea 着称。山地社区的联系减少表明它在不同的制度下运作，并且可能比平原上的社区更容易受到干扰。对深海平原的种间依赖性发生在广泛的分类群中，被认为是生物对与基质之间相似关系以及对碎屑资源竞争的结果。此外，一些种内对在不同尺度上改变了依赖方向。