FDmine database: A trait-based approach in the study of functional diversity of deep-sea environments targeted for mineral exploitation

The increasing exploitation of marine resources has prompted concerns about the health of our oceans, including deep-seabed ecosystems which not only hold high and unique biodiversity but also substantial deposits of mineral resources. Commercial mining has not yet begun, but national and international governing agencies are under pressure to rapidly develop: 1) science-based regulatory frameworks for environmental impact assessments, and 2) environmental management and monitoring plans that safeguard the protection of the biodiversity and services provided by these unique ecosystems. Environmental impact assessments have traditionally used taxonomic-based indicators of ecosystem integrity. However, growing evidence advocates for a parallel assessment of disturbance effects on the functions provided by biological communities. Functional diversity metrics rely on measurable biological traits of an organism and inform on that organism’s influence and response to environmental changes and/or its effects on ecosystem processes. Thus, functional trait analyses have the potential to offer new insights into how to develop and prioritize management and conservation strategies for various ecosystems at local, regional, and global scales. This dataset establishes a common framework for functional trait analyses in deep-sea ecosystems targeted for seabed mining.