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The paucity of data, including on the biodiversity, ecology, and vulnerability of these habitats and the communities they support, leads to their omission from most conservation and management decisions and practices. We investigated for the first time the structure and diversity (taxonomic and functional) of demersal fish communities from the central and southern atolls of the Maldives, spanning a wide bathymetric gradient of 2\u2013500\u00a0m to better understand whether and how their vulnerability changes across depth. Abundance and biomass data from transect surveys of demersal fishes were combined with species\u2019 trait data representing life histories to estimate a series of taxonomic\u2010based and functional\u2010based diversity metrics. Distinct fish communities occurred across the different surveyed depths, highlighting the unique biological characteristics of MCEs and deep\u2010sea coral habitats in the Indian Ocean. Taxonomic and functional diversity decreased as depth increased, and there was little overlap between species\u2019 life\u2010history strategies. This suggests deep habitats are more vulnerable than shallow habitats to disturbance events given low levels of trait redundancy that buffer species\u2019 trait loss. Moreover, many fishes living in MCE and deep\u2010sea habitats were among the most functionally unique species (e.g., sharks and rays) and all were threatened with extinction. Given the suite of pressures MCEs and deep\u2010sea habitats are subjected to (fishing, thermal stress, pollution), their vulnerability to disturbance, and the species of conservation concern they support, we suggest they should be considered as priorities in ongoing and future conservation and marine spatial planning initiatives in the region and globally.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/cobi.70085","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,3]],"date-time":"2025-07-03T04:56:27Z","timestamp":1751518587000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Vulnerability of tropical fish communities across depth in the central Indian Ocean"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"39","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4040-8364","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paris V.","family":"Stefanoudis","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Nekton Foundation Oxford UK"},{"name":"Museum of Natural History Oxford University Oxford UK"},{"name":"The Biodiversity Consultancy Cambridge UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1329-0433","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nina M.","family":"de Villiers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nekton Foundation Oxford UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mariyam Shidha","family":"Afzal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate School of Engineering and Science University of the Ryukyus Okinawa Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hana","family":"Amir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Maldives Marine Research Institute Male Maldives"},{"name":"School of Ocean Sciences Bangor University Bangor UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Farah","family":"Amjad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nekton Foundation Oxford UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aminath Shaha","family":"Hashim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Blue Marine Foundation London UK"},{"name":"Maldives Resilient Reefs Male Maldives"},{"name":"Department of Biosciences University of Exeter Exeter UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ahmed Riyaz","family":"Jauharee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Maldives Marine Research Institute Male Maldives"},{"name":"College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences The Maldives National University Male Maldives"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ryan","family":"Palmer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity Makhanda South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alex D.","family":"Rogers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"REV Ocean Lysaker Norway"},{"name":"Ocean Census Oxford UK"},{"name":"National Oceanography Centre Southampton UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mohamed","family":"Shimal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Maldives Marine Research Institute Male Maldives"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shafiya","family":"Naeem","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Maldives Marine Research Institute Male Maldives"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mohamed","family":"Ahusan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Maldives Marine Research Institute Male Maldives"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lucy C.","family":"Woodall","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nekton Foundation Oxford UK"},{"name":"Department of Biosciences University of Exeter Exeter UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_7_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fmars.2021.731037"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_3_1","unstructured":"Ahusan M. 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