scholarly journals 260 Voyages Beneath the Sea: A global assessment of biodiversity and research effort at deep-sea hydrothermal vents

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D Thaler ◽  
Diva Amon
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Hydrothermal Vent ◽  
Hydrothermal Vents ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Spreading Center ◽  
Biological Research ◽  
Northwest Pacific ◽  
North East ◽  
East Pacific ◽  
Biogeographic Provinces

For over forty years, hydrothermal vents and the communities that thrive on them have been a source of profound discovery for deep-sea ecologists. These ecosystems are found throughout the world on active plate margins as well as other geologically active features. In addition to their ecologic interest, hydrothermal vent fields are comprised of metallic ores, sparking a nascent industry that aims to mine these metal-rich deposits for their mineral wealth. Here we provide the first systematic assessment of biodiversity at hydrothermal vents normalized against research effort. Cruise reports from scientific expeditions as well as other primary literature were used to characterize the extent of exploration, determine the relative biodiversity of different biogeographic provinces, identify knowledge gaps related to the distribution of research effort, and prioritize targets for additional sampling to establish biodiversity baselines ahead of potential commercial exploitation. The Northwest Pacific, Southwest Pacific, and Southern Ocean biogeographic provinces were identified as high biodiversity using rarefaction of incidence data, whereas the North East Pacific Rise, Northern East Pacific, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and Indian Ocean provinces had medium biodiversity, and the Mid-Cayman Spreading Center was identified as a province of relatively low biodiversity. A North/South divide in the extent of biological research and the targets of hydrothermal vent mining prospects was also identified. Finally, we provide an estimate of sampling completeness for each province to inform scientific and stewardship priorities.

scholarly journals 262 Voyages Beneath the Sea: a global assessment of macro- and megafaunal biodiversity and research effort at deep-sea hydrothermal vents

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Thaler ◽  
Diva Amon
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Hydrothermal Vent ◽  
Hydrothermal Vents ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Spreading Center ◽  
Biological Research ◽  
Northwest Pacific ◽  
North East ◽  
East Pacific ◽  
Biogeographic Provinces

For over 40 years, hydrothermal vents and the communities that thrive on them have been a source of profound discovery for deep-sea ecologists. These ecosystems are found throughout the world on active plate margins as well as other geologically active features. In addition to their ecologic interest, hydrothermal vent fields are comprised of metallic ores, sparking a nascent industry that aims to mine these metal-rich deposits for their mineral wealth. Here, we provide the first systematic assessment of macrofaunal and megafaunal biodiversity at hydrothermal vents normalized against research effort. Cruise reports from scientific expeditions as well as other literature were used to characterize the extent of exploration, determine the relative biodiversity of different biogeographic provinces, identify knowledge gaps related to the distribution of research effort, and prioritize targets for additional sampling to establish biodiversity baselines ahead of potential commercial exploitation. The Northwest Pacific, Southwest Pacific, and Southern Ocean biogeographic provinces were identified as high biodiversity using rarefaction of family-level incidence data, whereas the North East Pacific Rise, Northern East Pacific, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and Indian Ocean provinces had medium biodiversity, and the Mid-Cayman Spreading Center was identified as a province of relatively low biodiversity. A North/South divide in the extent of biological research and the targets of hydrothermal vent mining prospects was also identified. Finally, we provide an estimate of sampling completeness for each province to inform scientific and stewardship priorities.

scholarly journals 260 Voyages Beneath the Sea: A global assessment of biodiversity and research effort at deep-sea hydrothermal vents

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D Thaler ◽  
Diva Amon
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Hydrothermal Vent ◽  
Hydrothermal Vents ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Spreading Center ◽  
Biological Research ◽  
Northwest Pacific ◽  
North East ◽  
East Pacific ◽  
Biogeographic Provinces

For over forty years, hydrothermal vents and the communities that thrive on them have been a source of profound discovery for deep-sea ecologists. These ecosystems are found throughout the world on active plate margins as well as other geologically active features. In addition to their ecologic interest, hydrothermal vent fields are comprised of metallic ores, sparking a nascent industry that aims to mine these metal-rich deposits for their mineral wealth. Here we provide the first systematic assessment of biodiversity at hydrothermal vents normalized against research effort. Cruise reports from scientific expeditions as well as other primary literature were used to characterize the extent of exploration, determine the relative biodiversity of different biogeographic provinces, identify knowledge gaps related to the distribution of research effort, and prioritize targets for additional sampling to establish biodiversity baselines ahead of potential commercial exploitation. The Northwest Pacific, Southwest Pacific, and Southern Ocean biogeographic provinces were identified as high biodiversity using rarefaction of incidence data, whereas the North East Pacific Rise, Northern East Pacific, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and Indian Ocean provinces had medium biodiversity, and the Mid-Cayman Spreading Center was identified as a province of relatively low biodiversity. A North/South divide in the extent of biological research and the targets of hydrothermal vent mining prospects was also identified. Finally, we provide an estimate of sampling completeness for each province to inform scientific and stewardship priorities.

scholarly journals Mining the Deep: A global assessment of biodiversity and research effort at deep-sea hydrothermal vents in relation to mining of seafloor massive sulphides

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Thaler ◽  
Diva Amon
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Hydrothermal Vent ◽  
Hydrothermal Vents ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Scientific Discovery ◽  
Precious Metals ◽  
Biogeographic Provinces ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Seafloor Massive Sulphides ◽  
Massive Sulphides

When the RV Knorr set sail for the Galapagos Rift in 1977, the scientists aboard expected to find deep-sea hydrothermal vents. What they did not expect to find was life—abundant and unlike anything ever seen before. Submersible dives revealed not only deep-sea hydrothermal vents but entire ecosystem surrounding them, including the towering bright red tubeworms that would become icons of the deep sea. This discovery was so unexpected that the ship carried no biological preservatives. These first specimens were fixed in vodka from the scientists’ private reserves.Since that first discovery, deep-sea hydrothermal vents have been found throughout the oceans. As more regions are explored, newly discovered vent fields present the potential for entirely species and ecosystems. Increasingly, however, it is not scientific discovery, but the financial value of vent fields, and the ores they contain, that is driving exploration in the deep sea. Over the last five decades, a new industry has emerged to explore the potential of mining Seafloor Massive Sulphides (deep-sea hydrothermal vents that contain high concentrations of rare and precious metals). Multiple enterprises are developing mining prospects that include both active and inactive deep-sea hydrothermal vent fields. In order to understand the impacts of exploitation at deep-sea hydrothermal vents, scientists and miners must establish environmental baselines. Biodiversity is frequently used as a proxy for resilience and as a metric for assessing biological baselines but, since research effort is not distributed equally across the oceans, biodiversity estimates in the deep sea are rarely comprehensive. Studies have predominantly focused on a few key biogeographic provinces, while other regions have only been sampled sparingly. Managers, regulators, and mining companies are working from incomplete data, with inferences about the consequences, as well as mitigation and remediation practices, often drawn from studies of few vent ecosystems that are often different from those in which the impacts are expected to occur. To better assess our current understanding of deep-sea hydrothermal vent biodiversity, we undertook a quantitative survey of the last 40 years of vent research. A stark north/south divide was detected, demonstrating that while research was disproportionately focused in the Northern Hemisphere, mining prospects were overwhelmingly positioned in the Southern Hemisphere. In addition, we provided a ranked assessment of biodiversity in eight major biogeographic provinces, identified knowledge gaps in the available deep-sea hydrothermal vent exploration literature, and assessed sampling completeness to provide further guidance to regulators, managers, and contractors as they develop comprehensive environmental baseline assessments.

New records of Serpulidae (Annelida, Polychaeta) from hydrothermal vents of North Fiji, Pacific Ocean

Zootaxa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2389 (1) ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELENA K. KUPRIYANOVA ◽  
EIJIROH NISHI ◽  
MASARU KAWATO ◽  
YOSHIHIRO FUJIWARA
Keyword(s):  
Ribosomal Rna ◽  
Hydrothermal Vent ◽  
Hydrothermal Vents ◽  
New Records ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Suspension Feeding ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
East Pacific ◽  
Molecular Phylogenetic

Serpulidae are sessile suspension-feeding annelids commonly found in the periphery of hydrothermal vents, but up to now only two species, Laminatubus alvini and Protis hydrothermica had been described from such communities. This paper reports two additional serpulid species, collected in 2005 from the North Fiji hydrothermal vent area, identified as Hyalopomatus mironovi and Protis sp. The former has originally been described from the Kurile-Kamchatka Trench and the later recorded from the North-East Pacific. The latter species is similar to Protis hydrothermica, but lacks special finand-blade collar chaetae typical of this genus. Illustrated re-descriptions of the two species have been supplemented by molecular sequences (18S ribosomal RNA). Molecular phylogenetic analyses show that Hyalopomatus mironovi and Protis sp. are sister species of Laminatubus alvini and Protis hydrothermica, respectively.

scholarly journals Bacterial Group II Introns in a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Environment

2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (12) ◽  
pp. 6392-6398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mircea Podar ◽  
Lauren Mullineaux ◽  
Hon-Ren Huang ◽  
Philip S. Perlman ◽  
Mitchell L. Sogin
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Hydrothermal Vent ◽  
Hydrothermal Vents ◽  
Bacterial Genome ◽  
Group Ii Introns ◽  
Retrotransposable Elements ◽  
Catalytic Rnas ◽  
East Pacific ◽  
Group Ii

ABSTRACT Group II introns are catalytic RNAs and mobile retrotransposable elements known to be present in the genomes of some nonmarine bacteria and eukaryotic organelles. Here we report the discovery of group II introns in a bacterial mat sample collected from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent near 9°N on the East Pacific Rise. One of the introns was shown to self-splice in vitro. This is the first example of marine bacterial introns from molecular population structure studies of microorganisms that live in the proximity of hydrothermal vents. These types of mobile genetic elements may prove useful in improving our understanding of bacterial genome evolution and may serve as valuable markers in comparative studies of bacterial communities.

Amphipoda (Crustacea: Peracarida) from chemically reduced habitats; the hydrothermal vent system of the north-east Pacific. Part II. Melitidae and Eusiridae

2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 1207-1217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Larsen ◽  
Traudl Krapp-Schickel
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Hydrothermal Vent ◽  
Hydrothermal Vents ◽  
Juan De Fuca Ridge ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
East Pacific ◽  
Juan De Fuca ◽  
Gorda Ridge ◽  
One New Species

The amphipod fauna from habitats in hydrothermal vents on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, Escabana Trough, and Gorda Ridge and from experimental wood deployments is examined. The material revealed one new species of Melitidae, Bathyceradocus wuzzae, and one of Eusiridae, Leptamphopus fragilis.

scholarly journals Growth and Phylogenetic Properties of Novel Bacteria Belonging to the Epsilon Subdivision of the Proteobacteria Enriched fromAlvinella pompejana and Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents

2001 ◽  
Vol 67 (10) ◽  
pp. 4566-4572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara J. Campbell ◽  
Christian Jeanthon ◽  
Joel E. Kostka ◽  
George W. Luther ◽  
S. Craig Cary
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Hydrothermal Vent ◽  
Hydrothermal Vents ◽  
Heterotrophic Bacteria ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Optimal Growth ◽  
Small Subunit ◽  
Ribosomal Gene ◽  
Moderately Thermophilic ◽  
Novel Bacteria

ABSTRACT Recent molecular characterizations of microbial communities from deep-sea hydrothermal sites indicate the predominance of bacteria belonging to the epsilon subdivision of Proteobacteria(epsilon Proteobacteria). Here, we report the first enrichments and characterizations of four epsilonProteobacteria that are directly associated withAlvinella pompejana, a deep sea hydrothermal vent polychete, or with hydrothermal vent chimney samples. These novel bacteria were moderately thermophilic sulfur-reducing heterotrophs growing on formate as the energy and carbon source. In addition, two of them (Am-H and Ex-18.2) could grow on sulfur lithoautrotrophically using hydrogen as the electron donor. Optimal growth temperatures of the bacteria ranged from 41 to 45°C. Phylogenetic analysis of the small-subunit ribosomal gene of the two heterotrophic bacteria demonstrated 95% similarity to Sulfurospirillum arcachonense, an epsilon Proteobacteria isolated from an oxidized marine surface sediment. The autotrophic bacteria grouped within a deeply branching clade of the epsilonProteobacteria, to date composed only of uncultured bacteria detected in a sample from a hydrothermal vent along the mid-Atlantic ridge. A molecular survey of various hydrothermal vent environments demonstrated the presence of two of these bacteria (Am-N and Am-H) in more than one geographic location and habitat. These results suggest that certain epsilonProteobacteria likely fill important niches in the environmental habitats of deep-sea hydrothermal vents, where they contribute to overall carbon and sulfur cycling at moderate thermophilic temperatures.

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