Sven Rossel from the German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research in Wilhelmshaven samples seafloor sediments obtained with a multicorer from a water depth of 4,500 metres (left). Alizé Bouriat from the French Institute Ifremer in Brest collects meiofauna (animals with a size between 0.03 and 0.3 millimetres) and macrofauna (0.3 mm to 1 cm) for later DNA analyses (right)

Sven Rossel from the German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research in Wilhelmshaven samples seafloor sediments obtained with a multicorer from a water depth of 4,500 metres (left). Alizé Bouriat from the French Institute Ifremer in Brest collects meiofauna (animals with a size between 0.03 and 0.3 millimetres) and macrofauna (0.3 mm to 1 cm) for later DNA analyses (right) Source: Carsten Rühlemann