DOI: 10.5061/dryad.bk3j9kdnr
title: Data from: Recent trends and biases in mesophotic ecosystem research

description: Mesophotic ecosystems (~30-150 m) represent a significant proportion of
 the world’s oceans, yet have long remained understudied due to challenges
 in accessing these deeper depths. Due to advances in underwater
 technologies and a growing scientific and management interest, there has
 been a major expansion in research of both (sub)tropical mesophotic coral
 ecosystems (MCEs) and temperate mesophotic ecosystems (TMEs). Here, we
 characterize the recent global trends in mesophotic research through an
 updated release of the “mesophotic.org” database where we reviewed and
 cataloged 1,500 scientific publications. In doing so, we shed light on
 four major research biases: a gross imbalance in (a) the geographic spread
 of research efforts, differences in (b) the focal depth range and (c)
 research fields associated with study organisms and research platforms,
 and (d) the lack of temporal studies. Overall, we are optimistic about the
 future of mesophotic research and hope that by highlighting current trends
 and imbalances, we can raise awareness and stimulate discussion on the
 future directions of this emerging field.
description: The mesophotic.org online data repository is open access and
 available on the “Publications” page with advanced search capabilities and
 the ability to download a csv file (www.mesophotic.org/publications). A static copy of the database used in the analyses (publications through 2023, inclusive) is archived here.
description: # Recent trends and biases in mesophotic ecosystem research
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.bk3j9kdnr](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.bk3j9kdnr) This work was conducted by an international group of scientists, the majority of early career, working on a voluntary basis without any associated funds. Veronica Z. Radice,1 Alejandra Hernández-Agreda,*1 Gonzalo Pérez-Rosales,*2, 3 Ryan Booker,4 Jessica Bellworthy,5 Manon Broadribb,6 Gaby E. Carpenter,7 Clara Diaz,8 Ryan J. Eckert,9 Nicola L. Foster,8 Johanna C. Gijsbers,10 Erika Gress,11 Jack H Laverick,12 Valerio Micaroni,13 Miriam Pierotti,6 Héloïse Rouzé,14 Angela Stevenson,8, 15, 16 Alexis B. Sturm,17 Pim Bongaerts1 *equal contribution Affiliations 1\. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, USA 2\. Department of Ocean Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong 3\. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA 4\. Global Underwater Explorers, QLD, Australia 5\. Department of Marine Biology, The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel 6\. School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand 7\. Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA 8\. School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK 9\. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Ft. Pierce, FL USA 10\. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional (CIIDIR), Unidad Oaxaca, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, Oaxaca, México 11\. College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Australia 12\. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK 13\. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy 14\. Marine Laboratory, University of Guam, Guam 15\. Marine Biological Association of the UK, Plymouth, UK 16\. Marine Evolutionary Ecology, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany 17\. National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Silver Spring, MD USA ## Description of the data and file structure **DATA: publications_static_databaseRelease2.0.csv** This file includes the data used in the Radice et al. manuscript in *Biology Letters*. Data includes publication metadata (up until and including the year 2023) from the mesophotic.org website that were analyzed for the *Biology Letters* manuscript. This is a static copy of the data, but the current (or any other date ranges) of the data are open access and available on the “Publications” page with advanced search capabilities and the ability to download a CSV file ([www.mesophotic.org/publications/](http://www.mesophotic.org/publications)). All metadata variables are listed and explained on the mesophotic.org website "About" page ([www.mesophotic.org/about/](http://www.mesophotic.org/about/)). Empty cells in the CSV file are due to unavailable information. For example, some particularly old publications do not have a DOI, or not all journals include an "Issue" number. ## Code/software  Any text editor or spreadsheet editor can be used to view the CSV file (e.g., Excel, R, Python, TextEdit, etc.).