Abstract
Abstract. During 2011, two deep-sea observatories focusing on hydrothermal vent ecology were up and running in the Atlantic (Eiffel Tower, Lucky Strike vent field) and the Northeast Pacific Ocean (NEP) (Grotto, Main Endeavour Field). Both ecological modules recorded imagery and environmental variables jointly for a time span of 23 days (7–30 October 2011) and environmental variables for up to 9 months (October 2011–June 2012). Community dynamics were assessed based on imagery analysis and rhythms in temporal variation for both fauna and environment were revealed. Tidal rhythms were found to be at play in the two settings and were most visible in temperature and tubeworm appearances (at NEP). A ∼ 6 h lag in tidal rhythm occurrence was observed between Pacific and Atlantic hydrothermal vents, which corresponds to the geographical distance and time delay between the two sites.
Highlights
All over our planet, animals are influenced by day and night cycles
Polynoids were mostly found on bare substratum though they ventured on the mussel bed occasionally
Even though we revealed some similarities in the rhythms of MidAtlantic Ridge (MAR) and NEP low-temperature series collected for the same period, there were indications that local hydrography and associated bottom currents play a major role on the temporal variability of diffuse outflow and vent discharges (Barreyre et al, 2014, Lee et al, 2015)
Summary
Entrainment occurs when rhythmic physiological or behavioural events in animals match the periods and phase of an environmental oscillation, e.g. circadian rhythms, to light–dark cycles. In marine populations such cycles are evident in the photic zone (Naylor, 1985). More recently similar cycles have become apparent in deep-sea organisms and populations as well, at depths where light does not penetrate. At these greater depths, fluctuations in light intensity are likely to be replaced by changes in hydrodynamic conditions (Aguzzi et al, 2010). Though difficult to statistically demonstrate, the deep-sea organisms respond to or reflect the changing surrounding environmental conditions, which are modulated by hydrodynamic processes including the tides
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