Living Resources of the Deep Sea: Biological Profiles and Environmental Linkages

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 863

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Guangzhou 510300, China
2. Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Open-Sea Fishery, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangzhou 510300, China
3. Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, China
Interests: marine microbiology; fish immunology especially in molecular immunology

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Guest Editor
Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
Interests: fishery resources; diversity and spatiotemporal of nekton; fish biology; ichthyological ecology; fish taxonomy
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Deep-sea living resources are pivotal to food security, biodiversity conservation, and oceanic carbon cycling; however, their basic biological profiles—and the ways they couple to physical and chemical environments—remain largely undocumented.

This Special Issue addresses two interlinked questions: (1) What are the current status and life-history profiles of deep-ocean biota—including fishes, cephalopods, marine mammals, and microbial communities—covering biomass, diversity, age structure, diet, spawning grounds, migration routes, and reproductive cycles? (2) Which environmental drivers (temperature, oxygen, carbon flux, geomorphology, etc.) shape their distribution patterns, and what physiological, behavioral, and molecular mechanisms enable these organisms to adapt to high pressures, low temperatures, and perpetual darkness?

We welcome the submission of observational, experimental, and modelling contributions that apply traditional vessel surveys, fishery-dependent data, eDNA, acoustic and remote sensing, integrative taxonomy, or comparative genomics to clarify the basic traits of deep-sea organisms and to unravel the environmental factors and mechanisms shaping their distributions. The contribution of studies addressing either theme—or bridging both—is strongly encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Zuozhi Chen
Prof. Dr. Longshan Lin
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • deep-sea fisheries
  • spawning-ground shifts
  • habitat–environment coupling
  • rare deep-sea biodiversity
  • molecular adaptation
  • environmental DNA (eDNA)
  • acoustic monitoring
  • fishery remote-sensing

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3350 KiB  
Article
Distribution of Summer Zooplankton in the Waters off the Kuril Islands (Northwest Pacific) in Relationship with Environmental Conditions
by Valentina Kasyan
Biology 2025, 14(7), 827; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14070827 - 8 Jul 2025
Viewed by 224
Abstract
This study covers a large area around the Kuril Islands, one of the longest island arcs in the world, crossing several climatic zones, which allows for observations of longitudinal shifts in planktonic species’ ranges following shifts in the boundaries between the climatic zones. [...] Read more.
This study covers a large area around the Kuril Islands, one of the longest island arcs in the world, crossing several climatic zones, which allows for observations of longitudinal shifts in planktonic species’ ranges following shifts in the boundaries between the climatic zones. We analyzed spatial and vertical changes in the zooplankton community structure and the associated environmental factors from Yuri Island to Onekotan Island both in Pacific and Sea of Okhotsk waters, which are influenced by cold and warm water masses. Species diversity in the Pacific waters was higher than in the Sea of Okhotsk waters, with a peak of diversity recorded from warm waters off the southern Kuril Islands associated with the Soya Current and the Kuroshio Extension. Zooplankton abundance and biomass above the thermocline were higher in the Pacific waters compared to the Sea of Okhotsk area, showing a tendency to increase with higher latitude and lower water temperatures and generally to decline with depth. The water temperature and salinity below the thermocline were the most important explanatory environmental variables responsible for zooplankton abundance variations. The distribution patterns of the large-sized copepods were strongly correlated with temperature and salinity, as well as with dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll a levels. In contrast, small-sized copepods were adapted to or thrived in the areas with elevated temperature and salinity values and a reduced chlorophyll a concentration. Full article
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15 pages, 3061 KiB  
Article
Based on the Spatial Multi-Scale Habitat Model, the Response of Habitat Suitability of Purpleback Flying Squid (Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis) to Sea Surface Temperature Variations in the Nansha Offshore Area, South China Sea
by Xue Feng, Xiaofan Hong, Zuozhi Chen and Jiangtao Fan
Biology 2025, 14(6), 684; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14060684 - 12 Jun 2025
Viewed by 479
Abstract
Overfishing and climate change have led to the depletion of fishery resources in the offshore South China Sea. The purpleback flying squid (Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis) has emerged as a promising alternative due to its ecological and economic value. However, information on its [...] Read more.
Overfishing and climate change have led to the depletion of fishery resources in the offshore South China Sea. The purpleback flying squid (Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis) has emerged as a promising alternative due to its ecological and economic value. However, information on its preferred habitat conditions remains scarce. This study integrates geostatistical and fisheries oceanographic approaches to explore optimal spatial–temporal scales for habitat modeling and to assess habitat changes under warming scenarios. Utilizing fishery data from 2013 to 2017, environmental variables including SST, sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA), and chlorophyll-a concentration (CHL) were analyzed. Fishing effort data revealed significant seasonal differences, with the highest vessel numbers in summer and the lowest in autumn. Among the six modeling schemes, the combination of 0.5° × 0.5° spatial resolution and seasonal temporal resolution yielded the highest HSI model accuracy (84.02%). Optimal environmental ranges varied by season. Simulations of SST deviations (±0.2 °C, ±0.5 °C, and ±1 °C) showed that extreme warming or cooling could eliminate suitable habitats. These findings highlight the vulnerability of squid habitats to thermal shifts and support adaptive fishery strategies in the South China Sea. Full article
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