Value beyond view: illuminating the human benefits of the ocean twilight zone

Abstract

The twilight zone is a fundamental part of the ocean ecosystem, playing an important role in carbon sequestration and marine food webs and supporting the natural function of many planetary processes. Ecosystem services provided by the twilight zone are highly beneficial to humans, but they occur largely out of sight and they are undervalued by society as a result. To better evaluate the benefits that the twilight zone provides, an ecosystem service framework provides a way to organize our thinking about them and even to quantify their economic value. With this information at hand, leaders and policymakers can think more carefully about what we stand to gain or lose from actions that affect the twilight zone and the broader ocean environment to which it is tightly linked, particularly as we strive for the sustainable use of marine resources. The title was changed from "Ecosystem Services of the Mesopelagic" to "Value beyond view: illuminating the human benefits of the ocean twilight zone."