Ecological restoration attempts to return a degraded ecosystem to its historical trajectory [35]. For many ecosystems in the deep sea, although the historical trajectory is not always well understood or well documented, it may be inferred from life history and functional attributes of dominant taxa. For some deep-sea ecosystems selleck kinase inhibitor (e.g., many hydrothermal vent systems), a historical trajectory is understood or can be reasonably established or inferred [36] and [37]. For

others, more research and data would be needed to determine a historical trajectory. This is especially the case where disturbed ecosystems are exceptionally stable, with organisms of centennial or multi-centennial lifespans (e.g., coral reefs) [38] or substrata that grow on millennial time scales (e.g., manganese nodules) [39]. Ensuring that a functional set of flows, interactions, and exchanges with contiguous or inter-connected ecosystems occur in restored deep-sea ecosystems requires an understanding

of local and regional hydrodynamics as well as interactions among populations and species. For some patchy ecosystems in the deep sea, such as hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, and some seamounts, the understanding of how networks Selleck GSK3 inhibitor of these ecosystems interact within a bioregion is a fledgling science [40] and [41]; for apparently vast ecosystems, such as abyssal plains and manganese nodule beds, the spatial scale of ecosystem networks and characteristics of their ecological and genetic connectivity are poorly understood [42]. Restored ecosystems consist of indigenous species to the greatest practicable extent [35], but a Carnitine dehydrogenase number of factors make it challenging to recognize indigenous versus non-indigenous species or taxa: ranges of species and subspecies are often poorly known because pre-disturbance baselines (including successional sequences following natural disturbance) do not exist for most deep-sea ecosystems, taxonomic diversity is very high, and most

species have very low abundance in most of the deep sea [43]. While it may be more practical in most deep-sea systems to compare indigenous functional groups (e.g., suspension feeders, deposit feeders, size groups, etc.) rather than attempt to census all indigenous species and taxa, restoration actions based on functional groups could promote a change in community structure and species composition and an over-simplification of structure and diversity [18]. Attributes of restored ecosystems also include “connectivity” attributes that describe their relationship to the rest of the world. These include their integration into a larger landscape, their protection from external threats, and the existence of governance in support of restoration. Although all ecosystems are three-dimensional in space, this particular attribute is especially important for the ocean and linkages among its ecosystems.