Emergence in the deep sea: Evidence from harpacticoid copepods

In coastal waters, individuals of many benthic species make temporary excursions into the water column, a behavior called emergence. The reasons for this behavior are not well established, but some that have been suggested apply equally well to the deep sea, and some sediment-trap data suggest that emergence occurs in the deep sea. To investigate this possibility, we collected sediment cores and placed inverted-funnel traps at 3087 m depth on the continental slope off central California (36°41.91′N 123°0.14′W) for 36 days and investigated a representative taxon, the harpacticoid copepods. Although our methods probably produced underestimates, at least 4 of 55 species emerged, so conceptualizations about the ecology of deep-sea-sediment communities should include the idea that some benthic species use the near-bottom flow to change locations.