CLIDEEP - Workshop to explore the impacts of climate change on deep-sea benthic ecosystems

The deep-sea forms the largest ecosystem on the planet (covering more than 60% of the earth's surface). Deep-sea benthic ecosystems are intricately linked to one another and surface ocean ecosystems, and recent studies show that they are currently being impacted by climate change stressors, such as global warming, changing food supply, expanding hypoxic zones, and ocean acidification. Whilst a number of studies have been conducted to assess how deep-sea ecosystems will respond to individual stressors, w e know of no studies that have been conducted to assess how climate change stressors will modify deep-sea ecosystems when they act synergistically. In the proposed workshop we will gather a number of leading deep-sea biologists and ecologists together to discuss the most important threats to deep-sea benthic ecosystems posed by climate change. Then, using previously gathered data from peer-reviewed publications and the gray literature, we will attempt to identify the impacts that synergistically-acting climate change stressors will have on deep-sea benthic ecosystems. The long-term overarching aim of the workshop will be to provide at least 1 peer-reviewed publication to fellow scientists, interested stakeholders, and the general public about how synerg istically-acting climate change stressors will impact deep-sea benthic environments.