Macrofaunal community inside and outside of the Darwin Mounds Special Area of Conservation, NE Atlantic

. Spatial distribution and patchiness of deep sea macrofaunal communities were studied from samples collected in the Rockall Trough, NE Atlantic. In June 2011, two areas, located outside and within the Darwin Mound Special Area of Conservation (SAC), were sampled. Three megacores were deployed in each area at approximately 900 m depth. The two areas, ~ 18 km apart, did not differ in terms of sediment organic matter and percentage of mud content,...