Abstract
Author SummaryDeep-sea hydrothermal vents are mainly associated with seafloor spreading at mid-ocean ridges and in basins near volcanic island arcs. They host animals found nowhere else that derive their energy not from the sun but from bacterial oxidation of chemicals in the vent fluids, particularly hydrogen sulphide. Hydrothermal vents and their communities of organisms have become important models for understanding the origins and limits of life as well as evolution of island-like communities in the deep ocean. We describe the fauna associated with high-temperature hydrothermal vents on the East Scotia Ridge, Southern Ocean, to our knowledge the first to be discovered in Antarctic waters. These communities are dominated by a new species of yeti crab, stalked barnacles, limpets and snails, sea anemones, and a predatory seven-armed starfish. Animals commonly found in hydrothermal vents of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including giant Riftia tubeworms, annelid worms, vent mussels, vent crabs, and vent shrimps, were not present at the Southern Ocean vents. These discoveries suggest that the environmental conditions of the Southern Ocean may act as a barrier to some vent animals and that the East Scotia Ridge communities form a new biogeographic province with a unique species composition and structure.
Highlights
The discovery of hydrothermal vents along the Galapagos Ridge in 1977 [1] led to the identification of chemoautotrophic symbiosis [2] and forced marine biologists to reassess the contribution chemosynthesis makes to marine primary production, in the deep sea, where it supports a high biomass in an otherwise food-limited ecosystem
We describe the fauna associated with hightemperature hydrothermal vents on the East Scotia Ridge, Southern Ocean, to our knowledge the first to be discovered in Antarctic waters
Animals commonly found in hydrothermal vents of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including giant Riftia tubeworms, annelid worms, vent mussels, vent crabs, and vent shrimps, were not present at the Southern Ocean vents
Summary
The discovery of hydrothermal vents along the Galapagos Ridge in 1977 [1] led to the identification of chemoautotrophic symbiosis [2] and forced marine biologists to reassess the contribution chemosynthesis makes to marine primary production, in the deep sea, where it supports a high biomass in an otherwise food-limited ecosystem. Several decades of exploration have resulted in the detection of numerous vent sites and faunal assemblages at many mid-ocean ridges and back-arc basins These discoveries have resulted in an apparent global biogeography of vent organisms with separate provinces in the East Pacific, the North East Pacific, West Pacific back-arc basins, the shallow and deep Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean [7], a more recent analysis has proposed a single province for the Atlantic, a single province for the North West Pacific, a single province for the South West Pacific and Indian Ocean, and a biogeographic separation of the North East Pacific, North East Pacific Rise, and South East Pacific Rise [8]. Based on biological observations we present a re-analysis of the global biogeography of the deep-sea hydrothermal vent fauna, including that of the Antarctic hydrothermal vents
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
