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ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS OF HYDROTHERMAL VENT COMMUNITIES

ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS OF HYDROTHERMAL VENT COMMUNITIES

CRUISES

Credits: Dr Charles Fisher and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, SOI, and Dr Cherisse Du Preez

In the deep sea, hydrothermal vents are biologically important, harboring massive animal communities at densities that make them one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth. All this biomass exists thousands of feet below the sea surface and, unlike most communities, which rely on sunlight, the food web of hydrothermal vents is based on tiny chemosynthetic microbes (bacteria) which derive their energy from “breathing” vented chemicals. Hydrothermal vents typically arise where the movement of the plates that make up the surface of the Earth split and fissure, allowing geothermally heated water to escape through the planet’s crust (chemically enriched water that may reach temperatures of over 640°F).

Spreading centers in Western Pacific back-arc basins are geologically unique and the frequency of their tectonic or volcanic events are not well documented. The hydrothermal vent communities in these regions are also distinct, hosting endemic fauna, which are species that are not found anywhere else. Recent studies have further shown that these communities may harbor cryptic species that have yet to be described.

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