Manman Li

Hainan Institute of Biotechnology, Haikou, 570206, Hainan, China
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation, 2025, Vol. 15, No. 4   
Received: 16 May, 2025    Accepted: 24 Jun., 2025    Published: 18 Jul., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

This study reviews the research progress in whale fall ecology in recent years, focusing on the definition and discovery history of whale falls, the division of ecological succession stages, the dynamic driving mechanism of communities, and the connection between whale falls and other deep-sea ecosystems (cold seep, hydrothermal). It also compares the similarities and differences among whale fall communities in different sea areas and whale species. Research shows that whale falls, as unique "nutrient islands" in the deep sea, have nurtured rich and specialized biological communities, and their succession process reflects complex interspecific interactions and energy flow mechanisms. The decomposition process of whale carcasses releases a huge amount of organic matter, triggering continuous ecological succession stages, including the scavenging stage, the eutrophic opportunism stage, the sulfide-driven stage, and the oligotrophic "reef" stage. The species composition and functional dynamics vary in each stage. Whale fall ecosystems play a significant role in maintaining deep-sea biodiversity, promoting the cycle of energy and matter, and connecting scattered chemical energy ecological hotspots. In-depth research on the dynamics of whale fall communities not only helps to understand the evolution and adaptation strategies of deep-sea life, but also facilitates the assessment of the role of whale falls in the carbon cycle and deep-sea ecological functions, providing a scientific basis for the conservation of deep-sea biodiversity and resource management.

Whale fall; Deep-sea ecosystem; Ecological succession; Biodiversity; Chemosynthetic habitat