Altogether, the researchers identified 185 fish species contributing to bioturbation, 120 targeted by commercial fisheries.
“Ocean sediments are the world’s largest reservoir of organic carbon – so what happens on the seabed matters for our climate,” said University of Exeter PhD student Mara Fischer, who led the study.
“Bioturbation is very important for how the seabed takes up and stores organic carbon, so the process is vital to our understanding of how the ocean absorbs greenhouse gases to slow the rate of climate change.