Marine Biology Archimer June 2011, Volume 158, Issue 6, Pages 1187-1210 http://archimer.ifremer.fr http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1679-6 © 2011, Springer-Verlag The original publication is available at http://www.springerlink.com ailable on the publisher Web site Diversity and distribution of cold-seep fauna associated with different geological and environmental settings at mud volcanoes and pockmarks of the Nile Deep-Sea Fan Bénédicte Ritta, *, Catherine Pierreb, Olivier Gauthiera, c, d, Frank Wenzhöfere, f, Antje Boetiuse, f and Jozée Sarrazina, * blisher-authenticated version is av aIfremer, Centre de Brest, Département Etude des Ecosystèmes Profonds/Laboratoire Environnement Profond, BP 70, 29280 Plouzané, France bLOCEAN, UMR 7159, Université Pierre et Marie Curie,75005 Paris, France cLEMAR, UMR 6539, Universiteé de Bretagne Occidentale, Place N. Copernic, 29200 Plouzaneé, France dEcole Pratique des Hautes Etudes CBAE, UMR 5059, 163 rue Auguste Broussonet, 34000 Montpellier, France eMPI, Habitat Group, Celsiusstrasse 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany fAWI, HGF MPG Research Group on Deep Sea Ecology and Technology, 27515 Bremerhaven, Germany *: Corresponding authors : Bénédicte Ritt, email address :
[email protected] ;
[email protected] Jozée Sarrazin, Tel.: +33 2 98 22 43 29, Fax: +33 2 98 22 47 57, email address :
[email protected] Abstract : The Nile Deep-Sea Fan (NDSF) is located on the passive continental margin off Egypt and is characterized by the occurrence of active fluid seepage such as brine lakes, pockmarks and mud volcanoes. This study characterizes the structure of faunal assemblages of such active seepage systems of the NDSF. Benthic communities associated with reduced, sulphidic microhabitats such as ccepted for publication following peer review.