Table S1.

Grab Author(s) Year size (m2) Geographical region Depth N Reference Holte, B.; Buhl-Mortensen, L. Does grab size influence sampled macrofauna composition? A test conducted on deep-sea communities in the northeast Atlantic. Mar. Environ. Res. 2020, 154, Holte & Mortensen 2020 0.25 NE Atlantic Ocean (Barents and Norwegian Sea) 287-963 m 16 104867. Holte, B.; Buhl-Mortensen, L. Does grab size influence sampled macrofauna composition? A test conducted on deep-sea communities in the northeast Atlantic. Mar. Environ. Res. 2020, 154, Holte & Mortensen 2020 0.1 NE Atlantic Ocean (Barents and Norwegian Sea) 287-963 m 40 104867. Roditi-Elasar, M.; Karem, D.; Lazar, M.; Barneah, Orit; Almogi-La- bin, A.; Angel, D.L. Benthic macro-faunal abundance and diversity and sediment distribution in Akhziv submarine canyon and the ad- jacent slope (eastern Levant Basin, Mediterranean Sea). Mediterr. Mar. Sci. 2019, 20, 521-531.

Roditi-Elasar et al. 2019 0.48 Mediterranean Sea (Israeli coastline) 46-450 m 8 Trannum, H.C.; Borgersen, G.; Oug, E.; Glette, T.; Brooks, L.; Ramirez-Llodra, E. Epifaunal and infaunal responses to submarine Trannum et al. 2019 0.1 NE Atlantic Ocean (Norwegian fjord) 20-70 m 50 mine tailings in a Norwegian fjord. Mar. Poll. Bull. 2019, 149, 110560. Henkel & Nelson 2018 0.1 E Pacific Ocean (US West coast) 28-138 m 255 Mariani, S.; Pinedo, S.; Terradas, M.; Cefali, M.E.; Chappuis, E.; Ballesteros, E. Habitat structure and zonation patterns of northwestern Mediterranean shoreline strands. Sci. Mar. 2017, 81, Mariani et al. 2017 0.06 Mediterranean Sea (Catalonian coast) Intertidal 29 269-282. Hubbard, W.A. Benthic studies in upper Buzzards Bay, Massachu- Hubbard 2016 0.04 NW Atlantic Ocean (Massachusetts) 7-15 m 24 setts: 2011/12 as compared to 1955. Mar. Ecol. 2014, 37, 532-542. Marqués de Almeida Shallow (not Marques de Almeida, T.C.; Arana, P.M.; Santana, R.; Pezzuto, P.R. A et al. 2016 0.042 W Atlantic Ocean (Brazilian southern coast) specified) 12 new benthic macrofauna and sediments sampler for attaching to otter trawl nets: comparison with the van Veen grab. Lat. Am. J. Aquat. Res. 2016, 44, 1116-1122. Rowden, A.A.; Kröger, K.; Clark, M.R. Compositional patterns of benthic assemblages on the north-western Ross Sea shelf, Antarctica: interacting environmental drivers operating at multiple spatial Rowden et al. 2015 0.2 Antarctic Ocean (NW Ross Sea) 50-750 m 53 scales. Hydrobiologia 2015, 761, 211-233. Schonberg, S.V.; Clarke, J.T.; Dunton, K.H. Distribution, abun- dance, biomass and diversity of benthic infauna in the Northeast Chukchi Sea, Alaska: Relation to environmental variables and ma- Schonberg et al. 2014 0.1 Arctic Ocean (Chukchi Sea) 25-130 m 48 rine mammals. Deep-Sea Res II, 2014, 102, 144-163. Van Hoey, G.; Birchenough, S.N.R.; Hostens, K. Estimating the bio- logical value of soft-bottom sediments with sediment profile imag- Van Hoey et al. 2014 0.1 NE Atlantic Ocean (South North Sea) 30-40 m 11 ing and grab sampling. J. Sea Res. 2014, 86, 1-12. Nanajkar, M.; Ingole, B.; Chatterjee, T. Spatial distribution of the nematodes in the subtidal community of the Central West Coast of India with emphasis on Tershellingia longicaudata (Nematoda: Linho- Nanajkar et al. 2011 0.11 W Indian Ocean (Central West India) 7-112 m 18 moeidae). Ital. J. Zool. 2011, 78, 222-230. Reiss, H.; Degraer, S.; Duineveld, G.C.A.; Kröncke, I.; Aldridge, J.; Craeymeersch, J.; Eggleton, J.D.; Hillewaert, H.; Lavaleye, M.S.S.; Moll, A.; Pohlmann, T.; Rachor, E.; Robertson, M.; vanden Berghe, E.; van Hoey, G.; Rees, H.L. Spatial patterns of infauna, epifauna, Not and demersal fish communities in the North Sea. ICES J. Mar. Sci. Reiss et al. 2010 0.1 NE Atlantic Ocean (North Sea) specified 303 2010, 67, 278–293. Echeverría, C.A.; Lavrado, H.P; Campos, L.; de Paiva, P. A new mini Box corer for sampling muddy bottoms in Antarctic shallow Waters. Echevarría et al. 2009 0.056 Antarctic Ocean (King George Island) 20-60 m 18 Braz. Arch. Biol. Technol. 2009 629-636. Ligas, A.; De Biasi, A.M.; Demestre, M.; Pacciardi, L.; Sartor, P.; Cartes, J.E. Effects of chronic trawling disturbance on the secondary production of suprabenthic and infaunal crustacean communities in Ligas et al. 2009 0.1 Mediterranean Sea (Central Adriatic Sea) 50-55 m 50 the Adriatic Sea (NW Mediterranean). Cienc. Mar. 2009, 35, 195-207. Reiss, H.; Greenstreet, S.P.R.; Sieben, K.; Ehrich, S.; Piert, G.J.; Quirijns, F.; Robinson, L.; Wolff, W.J.; Kröncke, I. Effects of fishing Reiss et al. 2009 0.1 NE Atlantic Ocean (German Bight) 35-45 m 42 disturbance on benthic communities and secondary production within an intensively fished area. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 2009, 394, 201- 213. Guerra-García, J.M.; García-Gómez, J.C. Hand corer versus van Veen Guerra-García & grab in harbour sediments: Efficiency estimation in the study of mac- García-Gómez 2008 0.05 Mediterranean Sea (Ceuta) 3 m 9 robenthic communities. Zool. Baetica 2008, 19, 57-69. Labrune, C.; Grémare, A.; Amouroux, J.M.; Sardá, R.; Gil, J.; Taboada, S. Structure and diversity of shallow soft-bottom benthic macrofauna in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean). Helgoland Labrune et al. 2008 0.1 Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Lions) 10-50 m 285 Mar. Res. 2008, 62, 201-214. Ingole, B.; Sivadas, S.; Nanajkar, M.; Sautya, S.; Nag, A. A compara- tive study of macrobenthic community from harbours along the Ingole 2008 0.04 Indian Ocean (Bay of Bengal) 10-30 m 26 central west coast of India. Environ. Monit. Assess. 2008, 154, 135-146 Lu, L. Seasonal variation of macrobenthic infauna in the Johor Lu 2005 0.1 Indian Ocean (Singapore) 6.5-40 m 36 Strait, Singapore. Aquat. Ecol. 2005, 39, 107-111. Rivero, M.S.; Elías, R.; Vallarino, E.A. First survey of macroinfauna in the Mar del Plata Harbour (Argentina), and the use of polychaetes Rivero et al. 2005 0.05 W Atlantic Ocean (Mar del Plata Port) 5-10 m 36 as pollution indicators. Rev. Biol. Mar. Oceanog. 2005, 42, 101-108. Weslawski, J.M.; Wlodarska-Kowalczuk, M.; Legezynska, J. Occur- rence of soft bottom macrofauna along the depth gradient in High Weslawski et al. 2003 0.1 Arctic Ocean 203-374 m 19 Arctic, 79° N. Pol. Polar Res. 2003, 24, 73-88. Feder, H.M.; Naidu, A.S.; Jewett, S.C.; Hameedi, J.M.; Johnson, W.R.; Whitledge, T.E. The northeastern Chukchi Sea: Benthos-environ- Feder et al. 1994 0.1 Arctic Ocean (Chukchi Sea) 18-51 m 185 mental interactions. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 1994, 111, 171-190 Lie, U.; Pamatmat, M.M. Digging characteristics and sampling efficiency of the 0.1 m2 Van Veen grab. Limnol. Oceanogr. 1965, 10, Lie & Pamatmat 1965 0.1 NW Atlantic Ocean (San Juan Island) Intertidal 163 379-384.

Table S2.

Phylum/Class Subclass/Order Family Species G1 G2 G3

Annelida Polychaeta Aciculata Hesionidae - 0 0 5 Nereididae Nereis rava (Ehlers, 1868) 20 26 64 Nereididae Nereis sp. 3 42 15 Platynereis dumerilii (Audouin & Milne-Edwards, Nereididae 31 8 19 1833) Amphinomida Euphorosinidae Euphrosine sp. 0 0 1 Canalipalpata Terebellidae - 1 0 0 Cirratulida Paraonidae Cirrophorus lyra (Southern, 1914) 0 4 6 Eunicida Eunicidae Nematonereis unicornis (Grube, 1840) 3 3 1 Dorvilleidae Protodorvillea kefersteini (McIntosh, 1869) 0 1 3 Oenonidae Arabella mutans (Chamberlin, 1919) 3 19 13 Onuphidae Diopatra sp. 1 8 5 Diopatra marocensis (Paxton, Fadlaoui & Lechapt, Onuphidae 0 0 8 1995) Onuphidae Diopatra neapolitana (Delle Chiaje, 1841) 0 2 0 Onuphidae Onuphis eremita (Audouin & Milne Edwards, 1833) 71 159 349 Phyllodocida Nephtyidae Aglaophamus sp. 1 3 4 Phyllodocidae Phyllodoce sp. 0 0 2 Polynoidae Polynoe sp. 0 0 1 Sphaerodoridae Sphaerodoropsis sp. 1 0 0 Sabellida Sabellidae Branchiomma lucullanum (Delle Chiaje, 1828) 0 0 0 Sabellidae Chone duneri (Malmgren, 1867) 0 0 1 Sabellidae Sabella sp. 1 0 0 Syllidae Exogone sp. 4 0 3 Syllidae Syllis sp. 7 22 32 Sedentaria* Capitallidae Capitella sp. 0 0 2 Capitallidae Dasybranchus sp. 0 1 0 Capitallidae - 0 1 0 Chaetopteridae Spiochaetopterus costarum (Claparède, 1869) 0 0 ### Opheliidae Polyophthalmus pictus (Dujardin, 1839) 0 0 1 Paraonidae Levinsenia sp. 0 0 9 Paraonidae Aricidea sp. 6 4 0 Paraonidae Paradoneis sp. 2 0 6 Spionida Chaetopteridae Spiochaetopterus costarum (Claparède, 1869) 909 ### 0 Spionidae Laonice cirrata (M. Sars, 1851) 2 1 3 Spionidae Polydora sp. 12 8 11 Spionidae Prionospio dubia (Day, 1961) 10 7 19 Spionidae Spio sp. 4 3 4 Spionidae Spiophanes bombyx (Claparède, 1870) 1 2 4 Terebellida Cirratulidae Caulleriella sp. 0 4 16 Cirratulidae Cirriformia sp. 2 26 18 Cirratulidae - 11 9 4 Terebillidae Amphitrite cirrata (Müller, 1776) 0 0 1 Sipuncula Siponculiformes Sipunculidae - 0 0 2 Arthropoda Malacostraca Amphipoda Ampeliscidae Ampelisca brevicornis (Costa, 1853) ### ### ### Amphipoda Ampithoidae Ampithoe rubricata (Montagu, 1808) 4 0 0 Amphipoda Ampithoidae Ampithoe spp. 0 2 0 Amphipoda Ampithoidae - 0 4 5 Amphipoda Aoridae Aora sp. 0 0 1 Amphipoda Aoridae Microdeutopus sp. 2 1 3 Amphipoda Caprellidae Caprella sp. 0 0 5 Amphipoda Corophiidae Corophium acutum (Chevreux, 1908) 0 0 1 Amphipoda Corophiidae Corophium volutator (Pallas, 1766) 1 0 0 Amphipoda Corophiidae Corophium sp. 0 1 0 Amphipoda Dexaminidae Dexamine sp. 0 0 1 Amphipoda Dexaminidae Dexamine sp. 0 0 2 Amphipoda Gammaridae - 2 1 7 Amphipoda Ischyroceridae Ericthonius brasiliensis (Dana, 1853) 0 0 12 Amphipoda Leucothoidae Leucothoe sp. 0 0 2 Amphipoda Lysianassidae - 2 4 4 Amphipoda Meltidae - 0 0 1 Amphipoda Photidae Photis longicaudata (Spence Bate & Westwood, 1862) 1 0 0 Amphipoda Photidae Photis sp. 0 5 13 Amphipoda Phoxocephalidae Harpinia sp. 0 1 0 Decapoda Alpheidae Alpheus sp. 2 0 0 Decapoda Callaniassidae - 3 6 2 Decapoda Epialtiadae Acanthonyx sp. 3 0 2 Decapoda Epialtiadae Herbstia condyliata (J.C. Fabricius, 1787) 1 0 0 Decapoda Epialtiadae - 0 1 0 Decapoda Epialtidae Pisa sp. 0 0 2 Decapoda - - 3 0 1 Decapoda Inachidae Macropodia sp. 0 1 0 Decapoda Leucosiidae Ebalia sp. 0 0 2 Decapoda Paguroidae Pagurus sp. 0 0 3 Decapoda Paguroidae - 0 1 1 Decapoda Piluminidae - 0 2 0 Decapoda Pirimelidae Pirimela denticulata (Montagu, 1808) 0 0 4 Decapoda Portunidae Portunus hastatus (Linnaeus, 1767) 0 1 0 Decapoda Processidae Processa sp. 0 0 17 Decapoda Megalopa - 0 0 1 Decapoda Upogebidae Upogebia sp 1 5 15 Decapoda Xanthidae Xanto sp. 1 0 4 Decapoda - - 0 0 4 Isopoda Cirolanidae Eurydice grimaldii (Dollfus, 1888) 4 7 14 Isopoda Janiridae Janira sp. 1 0 1 Isopoda Paranthuridae Paranthura sp. 3 4 4 Isopoda Sphaeromatidae Sphaeroma sp. 0 0 1 Mysidacea* Mysida Gastrosaccus sp. 0 0 1 Mysidacea* Mysida 3 4 6 Tanaidacea* Apseudidae Apseudes talpa Montagu, 1808) 371 422 924 Tanaidacea* Apseudidae Apseudosis sp. 0 0 1 Tanaidacea* Leptocheliidae Chondrochelia dubia (Krøyer, 1842) 0 0 3 Dexamminidae Notrotopis guttatus 2 0 0 Ostracoda Halocyprida Halocyprididae - 0 4 2 Echinodermata Echinoidea Arbacioida Arbaciidae Arbaciella elegans (Mortensen, 1910) 0 0 2 Camarodonta Parechinidae Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816) 0 0 1 Echinoida Echinidae - 0 3 0 Holothuroidea Apodida Synaptidae - 0 0 1 Apodida - - 1 1 2 Ophiuroidea Amphilepidida Amphiuridae Amphipholis sp. 0 1 Mollusca Bivalvia Arcoida Arcidae - 0 0 1 Cardiida Psammobidae Gari sp. 0 0 1 Lucinida Lucinidae Ctnea sp. 0 1 1 Ostreoida Pectinidae Talochlamys sp. 0 0 1 Venerida Mactridae - 0 0 1 Veneroida Cardiidae Acanthocardia sp. 3 15 13 Veneroida Veneridae Callista sp. 0 0 1 Veneroida Veneridae Dosinia lupinus (Poli, 1791) 0 1 3 Gastropoda Aplysiida - - 1 0 0 Caenogastropoda Cerithiidae Bittium sp. 0 1 0 Cephalaspidea - - 0 0 1 Littorinimorpha Rissoidae Alvania sp. 2 0 0 Neogastropoda Columbellidae Columbella sp. 1 0 0 Neogastropoda Nassariidae Nassarius sp. 4 3 4 Nudibranchia - 1 2 1 Trochida Trochidae Jujubinus sp. 1 0 2 Nematoda - - - 1 2 0 Nemertina - - - 2 3 1