Astronomical and atmospheric impacts on deep-sea hydrothermal vent invertebrates

Ocean tides and winter surface storms are among the main factors driving the dynamics and spatial structure of marine coastal species, but the understanding of their impact on deep-sea and hydrothermal vent communities is still limited. Multidisciplinary deep-sea observatories offer an essential tool to study behavioural rhythms and interactions between hydrothermal community dynamics and environmental fluctuations. Here, we investigated whether species associated with a Ridgeia piscesae tubeworm vent assemblage respond to local ocean dynamics. By tracking variations in vent macrofaunal abundance at different temporal scales, we provide the first evidence that tides and winter surface storms influence the distribution patterns of mobile and non-symbiotic hydrothermal species (i.e. pycnogonids Sericosura sp. and Polynoidae polychaetes) at more than 2 km depth. Local ocean dynamics affected the mixing between hydrothermal fluid inputs and surrounding seawater, modifying the environmental conditions in vent habitats. We suggest that hydrothermal species respond to these habitat modifications by adjusting their behaviour to ensure optimal living conditions. This behaviour may reflect a specific adaptation of vent species to their highly variable habitat.

Keyword(s)

deep-sea observatory, hydrothermal vents, macrofaunal abundance, surface storms, ocean tides, time-series analysis

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Author's final draft
302 Mo
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101 Mo
Data Supplement Spectra of environmental variables; Bathymetric map of the Grotto edifice; Instruments used in the study
51 Mo
How to cite
Lelievre Yann, Legendre Pierre, Matabos Marjolaine, Mihaly Steve, Lee Raymond W., Sarradin Pierre-Marie, Arango Claudia P., Sarrazin Jozee (2017). Astronomical and atmospheric impacts on deep-sea hydrothermal vent invertebrates. Proceedings Of The Royal Society B-biological Sciences. 284 (1852). 20162123 (1-10). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.2123, https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00380/49122/

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