Table 1.

Knowledge gaps existing in marine ecology, which increase according to the species distribution depth, due to difficulties in repeating the field sampling with vessel assisted technologies, at spatiotemporally representative ecological scales (adapted from [21,38]).

Autecology	Biomass
	Distribution ranges (bathymetric, geographic, endemism)
	Connectivity ranges of adults (passive movement by currents, active movement by locomotor activity)
	Reproduction cycles (seasonal bathymetric displacements)
	Growth cycles (growth rates and longevity)
	Sex ratio (dimorphism in color and size)
	Trophic niche (food items)
	Rhythmic mode of displacement (endobenthic, nektobenthic, and benthopelagic)
	Ethology (intra- and interspecific interactions)
	Bioturbation (burrowing, burying)
Synecology	Richness and Biodiversity (taxonomic and functional)
	Trophic architecture (Guilds taxonomic composition, redundancy)
	Animal-mediated benthopelagic coupling/energy transference (deep scattering layers, bioluminescence panoramas)
	Nurseries/Spawning grounds Productivity (biomasses)