Exerts from Marine Scientist, Nov 2009:
"Deep sea ecosystems of the abyssal plains occupy a massive 60% of the earths surface.
For many, these systems are out of sight and out of mind, thought by many to be well beyond the reaches of human disturbance.
However, new research just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show that even these 'hidden' communities could be affected by climate change.
Ken Smith a marine ecologist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, with research based on 18 years of study, has shown that climate changes at the surface can have unexpectedly large effects in the remote depths; such changes can take place in weeks, months, years and even longer over decades.
Flat muddy seafloors, at around 4000-5000metres, off the coast of Central California and in the Porcupine Abyssal Plain off SW coast of Ireland provided the two long-term datasets."
Changes in the abundance of grenadiers, a deep sea fish, and the disappearance of some sea cucumbers during significant El Nino years are some of the findings.
"The authors conclude, climate change over a period is likely to to have an effect, influencing deep sea communities through the carbon cycle."