Fauna of cobalt-rich ferromanganese crust seamounts

Seamounts in the central-west Pacific Ocean are known to have thick, cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts. These are of commercial interest for mining. However, very little is known about the faunal communities on these seamounts, and in particular whether they could be different from those that occur on seamounts which do not have thick cobalt-rich crusts. This study was commissioned by the ISA to assess patterns of community composition and diversity on seamounts with, and without, cobalt-rich crusts, and the factors that determine these patterns.