Export of deep-sea hydrothermal particles, indigenous thermophilic microorganisms and larvae to the surrounding Ocean

Type Article
Date 2014
Language English
Author(s) Lesongeur Francoise1, 2, 3, Briand Patrick4, Godfroy AnneORCID1, 2, 3, Crassous Philippe4, Byrne Nathalie2, 3, Khripounoff AlexisORCID4
Affiliation(s) 1 : IFREMER, Ctr Brest, REM EEP, Lab Microbiol Environm Extremes,UMR6197, F-29280 Plouzane, France.
2 : CNRS, LM2E, UMR6197, F-29280 Plouzane, France.
3 : Univ Bretagne Occidentale, LM2E, UMR6197, Plouzane, France.
4 : IFREMER, Ctr Brest, REM EEP, Lab Environm Profond, F-29280 Plouzane, France.
Source Cahiers De Biologie Marine (0007-9723) (Editions de la station biologique de Roscoff), 2014 , Vol. 55 , N. 4 , P. 409-420
WOS© Times Cited 1
Keyword(s) Deep-sea hydrothermal vents, Particle flux, Hydrothermal microorganisms, Larvae, Regional index: North Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Azores Triple Junction
Abstract To assess the production and the export of particulate and biological material in deep-sea hydrothermal vents, four moorings with sediment traps and current meters were deployed for 24 days in the Azores Triple Junction (ATJ) region. They were deployed along an axis starting at the base of a hydrothermal vent chimney and ending 1000 m away. The particles sampled at the base of the chimney were characterized by high concentrations in total sulfur (16%) and iron (4%). The particle composition changed drastically with distance from the vent: the sulfur concentration decreased with an increase in clay components. Thermophilic microorganisms were successfully enriched from all the particle samples. Cultured strains were closely related to hydrothermal species, suggesting that viable hydrothermal vent microorganisms can be exported easily from one hydrothermal field to the open ocean. Fauna collected in the trap at the base of the chimney also included the hydrothermal mytilid species Bathymodiolus azoricus (prejuvenile prodissoconch late stage), larval or juvenile polychaetes and two vent gastropod species (Shinkailepas sp. and Phymorhynchus sp.). These organisms were not sampled by the others sediment traps. The most common taxa found in the traps off the vent were polychaetes, euphausiaceans and copepods (harpacticoids, nauplii and calanoids).
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Lesongeur Francoise, Briand Patrick, Godfroy Anne, Crassous Philippe, Byrne Nathalie, Khripounoff Alexis (2014). Export of deep-sea hydrothermal particles, indigenous thermophilic microorganisms and larvae to the surrounding Ocean. Cahiers De Biologie Marine, 55(4), 409-420. Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00230/34111/