Vertical distribution in the sediment of the different animal groups found in station CON01-416 (Continent Ridge) in the abyssal zone of Lake Baikal, expressed as the number of individuals per m2.

The vertical distribution of organisms in the sediment indicates that animals can be present as deep as 15 cm although at very low abundance at such depths (Fig. 4, Fig. 5 and Fig. 6). Oligochaetes and nematods are the only groups able to deeply penetrate into the sediment at significant densities (Fig. 4) in contrast to all other groups, which stay closer to the sediment surface. Maximal densities however seem to shift to the sediment surface with increasing bathymetric depth, as suggested in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, so that all animal groups are more concentrated near the surface in the deepest parts of Lake Baikal. In such case, the depth of sediment mixing due to bioturbation appears to decrease with increasing bathymetric depth (Fig. 2b).