The discovery of new deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities in the southern ocean and implications for biogeography

• Published in: PLoS Biology
• Main Authors: Rogers, Alex D., Tyler, Paul A., Connelly, Douglas P., Copley, Jon T., James, Rachael, Larter, Robert D., Linse, Katrin, Mills, Rachel A., Garabato, Alfredo Naveira, Pancost, Richard D., Pearce, David A., Polunin, Nicholas V. C., German, Christopher R., Shank, Timothy, Boersch-Supan, Philipp H., Alker, Belinda J., Aquilina, Alfred, Bennett, Sarah A., Clarke, Andrew, Dinley, Robert J. J., Graham, Alastair G. C., Green, Darryl R. H., Hawkes, Jeffrey A., Hepburn, Laura, Hilario, Ana, Huvenne, Veerle A. I., Marsh, Leigh, Ramirez-Llodra, Eva, Reid, William D. K., Roterman, Christopher N., Sweeting, Christopher J., Thatje, Sven, Zwirglmaier, Katrin
• Other Authors: University of St Andrews. School of Biology, University of St Andrews. Scottish Oceans Institute
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: East scotia ridge; Mid-atlantic ridge; Morphological evidence; Molecular phylogeny; Bransfield Strait; Sequence data; West Pacific; Marine; Invertebrates; Evolution; QE Geology; SDG 14 - Life Below Water; QE; Antarctic; East Scotia Ridge; Galapagos; Hilton; Indian; Mid-Atlantic Ridge; Pacific; Southern Ocean; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/4716; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001234

The ChEsSo research programme was funded by a NERC Consortium Grant (NE/DO1249X/1) and supported by the Census of Marine Life and the Sloan Foundation, and the Total Foundation for Biodiversity (Abyss 2100)(SVTH) all of which are gratefully acknowledged. We also acknowledge NSF grant ANT-0739675 (CG and TS), NERC PhD studentships NE/D01429X/1(LH, LM, CNR), NE/H524922/1(JH) and NE/F010664/1 (WDKR), a Cusanuswerk doctoral fellowship, and a Lesley & Charles Hilton-Brown Scholarship, University of St. Andrews (PHBS). Since the first discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents along the Galapagos Rift in 1977, numerous vent sites and endemic faunal assemblages have been found along mid-ocean ridges and back-arc basins at low to mid latitudes. These discoveries have suggested the existence of separate biogeographic provinces in the Atlantic and the North West Pacific, the existence of a province including the South West Pacific and Indian Ocean, and a separation of the North East Pacific, North East Pacific Rise, and South East Pacific Rise. The Southern Ocean is known to be a region of high deep-sea species diversity and centre of origin for the global deep-sea fauna. It has also been proposed as a gateway connecting hydrothermal vents in different oceans but is little explored because of extreme conditions. Since 2009 we have explored two segments of the East Scotia Ridge (ESR) in the Southern Ocean using a remotely operated vehicle. In each segment we located deep-sea hydrothermal vents hosting high-temperature black smokers up to 382.8 degrees C and diffuse venting. The chemosynthetic ecosystems hosted by these vents are dominated by a new yeti crab (Kiwa n. sp.), stalked barnacles, limpets, peltospiroid gastropods, anemones, and a predatory sea star. Taxa abundant in vent ecosystems in other oceans, including polychaete worms (Siboglinidae), bathymodiolid mussels, and alvinocaridid shrimps, are absent from the ESR vents. These groups, except the Siboglinidae, possess planktotrophic larvae, rare in Antarctic ...