Abstract
The distributions of the twenty-two megafaunal species at the Galapagos Rift hydrothermal vents vary markedly with respect to the discharging warm water. Vent associated water temperature ranged to 14.72°C, substantially above the 2.01°C ambient temperature of the area. Because it is a conservative property, temperature is a general index of vent-water quality. Some animals (the vestimentiferan, limpets, clam, a shrimp, an anemone, and for the most part, the mussel) are limited to the mouths of vents, where the temperature is several degrees above ambient. Others (serpulid worm, a second anemone, galatheid crab, turid gastropod) are abundant around the vents, but avoid the vent openings and so never experience much more than a degree above ambient. A third group (the siphonophore, brachiopod, a third anemone, enteropneust, a shrimp, ophiuroid) remains at the periphery of the vent field where temperature is at most a few tenths of a degree above ambient. Some mobile species (vent fish, brachyuran crab, galatheid crab, amphi-pods) are most abundant at vent openings but range even into non-vent terrain. Among the taxa that are peripheral or at least avoid vent openings are species which also live in the vast nonvent milieu, but most vent field species are endemic. Conversely, most members of the nonvent environment are absent from vent fields. While vents are obviously a source of abundant nutrition, most deep-sea animals are probably not adapted to the elevated temperature and/or unusual chemistry. Some may be inhibited by interference competition. Those that are totally excluded must be especially sensitive because dilution at the periphery is high.
Chemoautotrophic bacteria form the base of the food chain. The largest portion of metazoan biomass thrives through symbiosis with an incorporated chemoautotrophic bacterial flora; these animals are most closely associated with vent openings. Others feed on suspended bacteria ejected from the vents, those that have settled out, or bacteria growing as a film on the substratum. Vent fields possess a well-developed plankton, but the extent to which they form an intermediate link is not known. Nor do we know the amount of photosynthetically derived plankton and detritus that is contributed via the thermally induced convection cell. The top of the food chain consists of scavengers, mostly malacostracan crustaceans, some of whom combine deposit feeding with carnivory. Oddly, fish are not important at this level.
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Hessler, R.R., Smithey, W.M. (1983). The Distribution and Community Structure of Megafauna at the Galapagos Rift Hydrothermal Vents. In: Rona, P.A., Boström, K., Laubier, L., Smith, K.L. (eds) Hydrothermal Processes at Seafloor Spreading Centers. NATO Conference Series, vol 12. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0402-7_30
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