About the Authors

Andrew David Thaler

andrew.david.thaler@gmail.com

Affiliation Marine Laboratory, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, North Carolina, United States of America

Sophie Plouviez

Affiliation Marine Laboratory, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, North Carolina, United States of America

William Saleu

Affiliation Nautilus Minerals, Port Moresby, NCD, Papua New Guinea

Freddie Alei

Affiliation Environmental Science and Geography Division, School of Natural and Physical Sciences, University of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Alixandra Jacobson

Affiliation Marine Laboratory, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, North Carolina, United States of America

Emily A. Boyle

Affiliation Marine Laboratory, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, North Carolina, United States of America

Thomas F. Schultz

Affiliation Marine Laboratory, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, North Carolina, United States of America

Jens Carlsson

Affiliation School of Biology & Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Cindy Lee Van Dover

Affiliation Marine Laboratory, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, North Carolina, United States of America

Competing Interests

The authors recognize funding from Nautilus Minerals Ltd., a deep-sea mining company operating in Papua New Guinea, as a potential competing interest. While WS is currently in the employ of Nautilus Minerals, his contribution to the project was completed prior to that employment. This manuscript represents the original work of the authors and the funder had no role in study design, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. This does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: ADT SP TFS JC CLVD. Performed the experiments: ADT SP WS FA AJ EAB TFS. Analyzed the data: ADT SP WS FA AJ EAB TFS JC CLVD. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: TFS JC. Wrote the paper: ADT SP CLVD.