microsatviper

That's really cool! I'm surprised that wood and whale fall communities are so different, that organisms have evolved to fill those two specific niches!. Thank you so much! Have you ever looked at the microbial community structure or composition of wood and whale falls?

Do you see any differences in species diversity between wood falls and whale falls (or other animal carcasses)? Do totally different communities form on these two kinds of debris? Or is the deep sea benthos just so generalist that there are no differences in community composition?

Thanks!