A positive correlation was observed for resting lebensspuren (e.g., ophiuroid impressions, Actinaria circular impressions), while negative correlations were observed for locomotion-feeding lebensspuren (e.g., echinoid trails). However, lebensspuren density was either positively or negatively correlated with tracemaker densities, depending on the lebensspuren morphotypes.
Lebensspuren and faunal density were not correlated. However, a diversity correlation was observed between specific stations, showing both negative and positive correlations depending on: 1) the number of unknown tracemakers (especially significant for dwelling lebensspuren) and 2) the lebensspuren with multiple origins and 3) tracemakers that can produce different lebensspuren.
No general correlation (over-all study area) could be observed between diversities of lebensspuren, tracemakers, degrading fauna and fauna. To test these hypotheses, in this study lebensspuren, tracemakers (specific epibenthic fauna that produce these traces), degrading fauna (benthic fauna that can erase lebensspuren), and fauna in general were characterized taxonomically at eight deep-sea stations in the Kuril Kamchatka Trench area. The density and diversity relationships between lebensspuren and benthic fauna are to the present day unclear and contradicting hypotheses have been proposed suggesting negative, positive, or even null correlations. Lebensspuren are common features of deep seafloor landscapes and usually more abundant than the organism that produce them (i.e., tracemakers), rendering them promising proxies to infer biodiversity.
In the deep-sea, the interaction between benthic fauna and substrate mainly occurs through bioturbational processes which can be preserved as traces (i.e., lebensspuren).
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