Archaea in Mediterranean Sea Cold Seep Sediments and Brine Pools

Author(s):  
Cassandre S. Lazar
2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 18131-18173
Author(s):  
N. Lampadariou ◽  
V. Kalogeropoulou ◽  
K. Sevastou ◽  
K. Keklikoglou ◽  
J. Sarrazin

Abstract. Mud volcanoes are a special type of cold seeps where life is based on chemoautotrophic processes. They are considered as extreme environments and are characterised by unique megafaunal and macrofaunal communities. However, very few studies on mud volcanoes taking into account the smaller meiobenthic communities have been carried out. Two mud volcanoes were explored during the MEDECO cruise (2007) with the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Victor-6000; Amsterdam, located south of Turkey between 1700 and 2000 m depth (Anaximander mud field) and Napoli, south of Crete, located along the Mediterranean Ridge at about 2000 m depth (Olimpi mud field). The major aim of this study was to describe distributional patterns of meiofaunal communities and nematode assemblages from different seep microhabitats. Meiofaunal taxa and nematode assemblages at both mud volcanoes differed significantly from other Mediterranean sites in terms of standing stocks, dominance and species diversity. Density and biomass values were significantly higher at the seep sites, particularly at Amsterdam. Nematodes, the dominant meiofaunal taxon, displayed deeper penetration vertically into the sediment at the seep areas, indicating that biological rather than physicochemical factors are responsible for their vertical distribution. Patterns of nematode diversity varied, displaying both very high or very low species richness and dominance, depending on the habitat studied. The Lamellibrachia periphery and mussel bed of Napoli exhibited the highest species richness while the reduced sediments of Amsterdam yielded a species-poor nematode community, dominated by two successful species; one belonging to the genus Aponema and the other to the genus Sabatieria. Analysis of β-diversity showed that habitat heterogeneity of mud volcanoes contributed substantially to the total nematode species richness in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. These observations indicate a strong influence of mud volcanoes and cold-seep ecosystems on the meiofaunal communities and nematode assemblages.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 5381-5398 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Lampadariou ◽  
V. Kalogeropoulou ◽  
K. Sevastou ◽  
K. Keklikoglou ◽  
J. Sarrazin

Abstract. Mud volcanoes are a~special type of cold seeps where life is based on chemoautotrophic processes. They are considered to be extreme environments and are characterized by unique megafaunal and macrofaunal communities. However, very few studies on mud volcanoes taking into account the smaller meiobenthic communities have been carried out. Two mud volcanoes were explored during the MEDECO (MEditerranean Deep-sea ECOsystems) cruise (2007) with the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Victor-6000: Amsterdam, located south of Turkey between 1700 and 2000 m depth (Anaximander mud field); and Napoli, south of Crete, located along the Mediterranean Ridge at about 2000 m depth (Olimpi mud field). The major aim of this study was to describe distributional patterns of meiofaunal communities and nematode assemblages from different seep microhabitats. Meiofaunal taxa and nematode assemblages at both mud volcanoes differed significantly from other Mediterranean sites in terms of standing stocks, dominance and species diversity. Density and biomass values were significantly higher at the seep sites, particularly at Amsterdam. Patterns of nematode diversity, the dominant meiofaunal taxon, varied, displaying both very high or very low species richness and dominance, depending on the microhabitat studied. The periphery of the Lamellibrachia and bivalve shell microhabitats of Napoli exhibited the highest species richness, while the reduced sediments of Amsterdam yielded a species-poor nematode community dominated by two successful species, one belonging to the genus Aponema and the other to the genus Sabatieria. Analysis of β-diversity showed that microhabitat heterogeneity of mud volcanoes contributed substantially to the total nematode species richness in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. These observations indicate a strong influence of mud volcanoes and cold-seep ecosystems on the meiofaunal communities and nematode assemblages.


Zoosymposia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-134
Author(s):  
JAMES A. BLAKE ◽  
PATRICIA A. RAMEY-BALCI

A new spionid polychaete was discovered in deep-sea sediments in the eastern Mediterranean Sea during an expedition by the Ocean Exploration Trust. Specimens were collected by the E/V Nautilus in August 2012 off Turkey, at a depth of 2216 m on the Anaximander Seamount at the Amsterdam mud volcano site. Cores were taken from sediments covered with microbial mats. The new species belongs to the Pygospiopsis-Atherospio Group, which has unusual neuropodial hooks, modified neurosetae in some anterior setigers, and branchiae in middle body segments that are broad, flattened, and fused to the dorsal lamellae. The new species is assigned to a new genus and species, Aciculaspio anaximanderi n. gen., n. sp., and is unusual in having a reduced setiger 1 lacking notosetae; well-developed pre- and postsetal lamellae that encompass the neurosetae and notosetae; notopodial lamellae free from the branchiae in anterior setigers that become fused and flattened in middle and posterior segments; unidentate hooded hooks in both noto- and neuropodia; neuropodial spines in setigers 4–10; and a pygidium with three anal cirri. Aciculaspio anaximanderi n. gen., n. sp. is the first species in the Atherospio-Pygospiopsis Group collected from a deep-water cold seep habitat.


2014 ◽  
Vol 347 ◽  
pp. 27-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Römer ◽  
Heiko Sahling ◽  
Thomas Pape ◽  
Christian dos Santos Ferreira ◽  
Frank Wenzhöfer ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 304-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Claude Caprais ◽  
Nadine Lanteri ◽  
Philippe Crassous ◽  
Philippe Noel ◽  
Laurent Bignon ◽  
...  

2004 ◽  
Vol 51 (12) ◽  
pp. 1915-1936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karine Olu-Le Roy ◽  
Myriam Sibuet ◽  
Aline Fiala-Médioni ◽  
Serge Gofas ◽  
Carmen Salas ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Danilo Malara ◽  
Pietro Battaglia ◽  
Pierpaolo Consoli ◽  
Erika Arcadi ◽  
Simonepietro Canese ◽  
...  

The Strait of Messina is located at the centre of the Mediterranean Sea and is considered a biodiversity hotspot and an obligatory seasonal passage for different pelagic species such as sharks, marine mammals, and billfishes. For the first time, in the Strait of Messina, our research group tagged a Mediterranean spearfish (Tetrapturus belone) using a pop-up satellite archival tag (PSAT). The observation of abiotic parameters (depth, light, and temperature) recorded by the PSAT confirmed that the tagged specimen was predated after about nine hours. The tag was then regurgitated 14 days after the tag deployment date. The analysis of collected data seems to indicate that the predator may be an ectothermic shark, most likely the bluntnose sixgill shark (Hexanchus griseus).


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