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Abstract Invertebrate animals living at the seafloor make up a prominent component of life globally, spanning 10 orders of magnitude in body size over 71% of Earth's surface. However, integrating information across sizes and sampling methodologies has limited our understanding of the influence of natural variation, climate change and human activity. Here, we outline maturing practices that can underpin both the feasibility and impact of establishing Benthic Invertebrate Abundance and Distribution as a Global Ocean Observing System—Essential Ocean Variable, including: (1) quantifying individual body size, (2) identifying the well‐quantified portions of sampled body‐size spectra, (3) taking advantage of (semi‐)automated information processing, (4) application of metadata standards such as Darwin Core, and (5) making data available through internationally recognized access points. These practices enable broader‐scale analysis supporting research and sustainable development, such as assessments of indicator taxa, biodiversity, biomass, and the modeling of carbon stocks and flows that are contiguous over time and space. 

Abstract The calving of A‐68, the 5,800‐km², 1‐trillion‐ton iceberg shed from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in July 2017, is one of over 10 significant ice‐shelf loss events in the past few decades resulting from rapid warming around the Antarctic Peninsula. The rapid thinning, retreat, and collapse of ice shelves along the Antarctic Peninsula are harbingers of warming effects around the entire continent. Ice shelves cover more than 1.5 million km²and fringe 75% of Antarctica's coastline, delineating the primary connections between the Antarctic continent, the continental ice, and the Southern Ocean. Changes in Antarctic ice shelves bring dramatic and large‐scale modifications to Southern Ocean ecosystems and continental ice movements, with global‐scale implications. The thinning and rate of future ice‐shelf demise is notoriously unpredictable, but models suggest increased shelf‐melt and calving will become more common. To date, little is known about sub‐ice‐shelf ecosystems, and our understanding of ecosystem change following collapse and calving is predominantly based on responsive science once collapses have occurred. In this review, we outline what is known about (a) ice‐shelf melt, volume loss, retreat, and calving, (b) ice‐shelf‐associated ecosystems through sub‐ice, sediment‐core, and pre‐collapse and post‐collapse studies, and (c) ecological responses in pelagic, sympagic, and benthic ecosystems. We then discuss major knowledge gaps and how science might address these gaps. This article is categorized under:Climate, Ecology, and Conservation > Modeling Species and Community Interactions