The Exploration of Submarine Canyons and their Benthic Faunal Assemblages.

Abstract
Synopsis: The geological exploration of submarine canyons and valleys began late in the nineteenth century.Theories of canyon genesis are many, but the probable causes are turbidity currents or sediment slumps, or both. Recent biological investigations indicate that the faunal composition of canyons is quite different from adjacent depths without canyons. The predominance of motility in the fauna implies that canyons today are physically more dynamic than previously expected. Motility could be an adaptive strategy for survival in an unstable sedimentary environment, or the species may be trophic opportunists which are able to take advantage of the entrapment by canyons of large aggregates of organic detritus.

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