The project "Deep-water communities in the West-Nordic Area" was funded by the Nordic Coucil of Ministers in the years 2006 - 2008. The aim was to provide information about the community structure and diversity of epibenthic megafauna in the western region of the Nordic Seas. The focus was on the importance of hard substrate in the formation and definition of animal communities. In the photographs analysed, community structure was found to vary strongly between sites in Icelandic waters but not much within sites. Furthermore, community structure seemed to be strongly effected by the presence of any hard surfaces rather than just the clear difference between soft and hard bottoms which has often been reported as being the important ecological distinction. The wider scope provided by video data from the Jan Mayen region showed a highly patchy distribution of epifauna and that patches are often dominated by a single macrofaunal species or a few closely related species. This patchiness seems to be the result of presence or absence of hard surfaces to act as anchor sites for sessile and semi-sessile species. Two important questions raised by this project are: why is distribution of much of the megafauna in the study area organized in such species-specific patches and are such patchiness and observed diversity patterns typical for the region. Also, it suggests that in order to protect the true diversity of the region marine protected areas will have to be large and not limited to small areas of a specific bottom type. We recommend further ecological and biological studies in the area before human exploitation is allowed on a large scale.

Cold-water corals occur worldwide from high latitudes to tropical areas, in various settings from the deep-sea to shallow marine environments near the coast. The topic of this thesis is the establishment and extension of knowledge about environmental conditions controlling cold-water coral (CWC) mound development. From literature it is known that glacial-interglacial cycles drive development and geographic distribution of CWC mounds on a large scale. On the other hand, knowledge about the influence of small scale climatic and oceanographic changes during the Holocene is scarce. Thus, this thesis focuses on the investigation of the limited Holocene climatic and oceanographic changes and their effect on the process of mound genesis. For this purpose, a Holocene CWC mound setting in a sound in the Altafjord in northern Norway (70°N) -- the Stjernsund -- was chosen and the local benthic ecosystem was extensively analysed. Von den sub-arktischen hohen Breiten bis in warme tropische Zonen besiedeln Kaltwasserkorallen unseren Planeten. Sie haben sich verschiedenste Lebensräume erschlossen --- Von der Tiefsee bis zu marinen Flachwassergebieten an der Küste kann ihr Vorkommen beobachtet werden. Sie bilden faszinierende Ökosysteme die erst in den letzten Jahrzehnten intensiver erforscht wurden. Diese Arbeit widmet sich der tieferen Erforschung dieser Lebensräume. Im Fokus stehen dabei Umweltbedingungen, die die Entwicklung der Kaltwasserkorallenvorkommen kontrollieren. Umfangreiche frühere Untersuchungen haben bereits gezeigt, dass ihr Wachstum, als auch ihre geographische Verbreitung im Wesentlichen von Glazial-Interglazial-Zyklen gesteuert werden. Die kurzzeitlichen klimatischen und ozeanographischen Steuerungsfaktoren sind im Vergleich dazu jedoch nahezu unbekannt. Daher konzentriert sich diese Arbeit auf die Erforschung von kurzeitigen klimatischen und ozeanographischen Veränderungen, die insbesondere im Holozän zu beobachten sind, sowie deren mögliche Auswirkungen auf die Entwicklung von Kaltwasserkorallen Mounds. Hierzu wurde der holozäne Kaltwasserkorallen Mound im Stjernsund, ein Sund im Altafjord in Nordnorwegen (70°N) ausgewählt und dessen benthisches Ökosystem umfassend analysiert.

Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review remains one of the most cited sources in marine science. The increasing interest in work in oceanography and marine biology and its relevance to global environmental issues, especially global climate change and its impacts, creates a demand for authoritative refereed reviews summarising and synthesising the results of both historical and recent research. For more than 50 years, OMBAR has been an essential reference for researchers, students and workers in all fields of marine science. An international Editorial Board ensures global relevance and expert peer review, with editors from Australia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Singapore, and the UK. The series of volumes can be found in the libraries of institutes and universities worldwide. Five of the seven peer-reviewed contributions in Volume 61 are available to read Open Access via this webpage and on OAPEN. Supplementary material is provided online on the Support Materials tab on the book’s www.routledge.com webpage for Reviews 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6.. Volume 61 features a review of 100 years of daily sea surface temperature from the Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, California; an exploration of the biology and life cycle of enigmatic crustacean y-larvae; a review of the science, policy and management of the Central and South Atlantic Deep Sea benthos; a review of the biodiversity of the Irish-Scottish continental margin; an investigation of how new molecular tools can be used for marine biodiversity and ecosystem assessments, and a look at the resilience of marine organisms to climate change. A final monograph considers enemy shells as refugia from grazing and competition pressure. If you are interested in submitting a review for consideration for publication in OMBAR, please email the new co-Editors in Chief, Dr Peter Todd ([email protected]) and Dr Bayden Russell ([email protected]). Guidelines for contributors to OMBAR, including information on illustration requirements, can be downloaded on the "Support Material" tab on the latest volume’s webpage.

Ocean margins are the transitional zones between the oceans and continents. They represent dynamic systems in which numerous processes shape the environment and result in impacting the utilization and hazard potentials for humans. These processes are influenced by a variety of steering mechanisms, from mountain building and climate on the land to tectonics and sea-level fluctuations in ocean margins. This book examines various aspects of regulation for the long-term development of ocean margins, of the impact of fluids and of the dynamics of benthic life at and below the seafloor in ocean margin systems.

The Topic Editors Paul F. J. Wassmann, dorte Krause-Jensen, Markus A. Janout, and Bodil Annikki Bluhm declare that they are collaborating with pan-arctic community.