Hydrothermal-vent alvinellid polychaete dispersal in the eastern Pacific .1. Influence of vent site distribution, bottom currents, and biological patterns

Type Article
Date 1997-01
Language English
Author(s) Chevaldonne Pierre1, Jollivet Didier1, Vangriesheim Annick1, Desbruyeres Daniel1
Affiliation(s) 1 : IFREMER,LAB ECOL ABYSSALE,F-29280 PLOUZANE,FRANCE.
Source Limnology And Oceanography (0024-3590) (Amer Soc Limnology Oceanography), 1997-01 , Vol. 42 , N. 1 , P. 67-80
DOI 10.4319/lo.1997.42.1.0067
WOS© Times Cited 51
Abstract Deep-sea hydrothermal-vent habitats are typically linear, discontinuous, and short-lived. Some of the vent fauna such as the endemic polychaete family Alvinellidae are thought to lack a planktotrophic larval stage and therefore not to broadcast-release their offspring. The genetic evidence points to exchanges on a scale that seems to contradict this type of reproductive pattern. However, the rift valley may topographically rectify the bottom currents, thereby facilitating the dispersal of propagules between active vent sites separated in some cases by 10s of kilometers or more along the ridge axis. A propagule flux model based on a matrix of intersite distances, long-term current-meter data, and information on the biology and ecology of Alvinellidae was developed to test this hypothesis. Calculations of the number of migrants exchanged between two populations per generation (N-m) allowed comparisons with estimates obtained from genetic studies. N, displays a logarithmic decrease with increasing dispersal duration and reaches the critical value of 1 after 8 d when the propagule Aux model was run in standard conditions. At most, propagule traveling time cannot reasonably exceed 15-30 d, according to the model, whereas reported distances between sites would require longer lasting dispersal abilities. Two nonexclusive explanations are proposed. First, some aspects of the biology of Alvinellidae have been overlooked and long-distance dispersal does occur. Second, such dispersal never occurs in Alvinellidae, but the spatial-temporal dynamics of vent sites over geological timescales allows short-range dispersal processes to maintain gene flow.
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Chevaldonne Pierre, Jollivet Didier, Vangriesheim Annick, Desbruyeres Daniel (1997). Hydrothermal-vent alvinellid polychaete dispersal in the eastern Pacific .1. Influence of vent site distribution, bottom currents, and biological patterns. Limnology And Oceanography, 42(1), 67-80. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1997.42.1.0067 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00337/44780/