Deep-sea biodiversity at the extremes of the Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges with implications for conservation

Taxa were classified as vulnerable marine ecosystem (VME) taxa based on recent studies [69, 70]. Geospatial data processing. To characterize samples by the physicochemical factors of a deployment location, each deployment was attributed with its associated ecological marine unit (EMU) [71]. EMUs are ecological divisions of the 3D marine environment, representing physically and chemically distinct water volumes, from sea surface to seafloor. The divisions are based on statistical clustering of six marine environmental parameters (temperature, Fig 3. Representative and unique taxa observed with deep-sea camera systems at Desventuradas Islands. (A) Nemadactylus gayi�, Scorpaena orgila�, Squalus sp. (B) Pterygotrigla picta (C) Hydrolagus sp. (D) Lithodidae (E) Antimora rostrata (F) Squalus sp. �endemic species. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253213.g003 PLOS ONE Deep-sea biodiversity along the Salas y Go´ mez and Nazca ridges PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253213 June 30, 2021 7 / 27