Chemosynthesis

About: Chemosynthesis is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 373 publications have been published within this topic receiving 20987 citations.

Biodiversity on the Rocks: Macrofauna Inhabiting Authigenic Carbonate at Costa Rica Methane Seeps.

Abstract: Carbonate communities: The activity of anaerobic methane oxidizing microbes facilitates precipitation of vast quantities of authigenic carbonate at methane seeps. Here we demonstrate the significant role of carbonate rocks in promoting diversity by providing unique habitat and food resources for macrofaunal assemblages at seeps on the Costa Rica margin (400–1850 m). The attendant fauna is surprisingly similar to that in rocky intertidal shores, with numerous grazing gastropods (limpets and snails) as dominant taxa. However, the community feeds upon seep-associated microbes. Macrofaunal density, composition, and diversity on carbonates vary as a function of seepage activity, biogenic habitat and location. The macrofaunal community of carbonates at non-seeping (inactive) sites is strongly related to the hydrography (depth, temperature, O2) of overlying water, whereas the fauna at sites of active seepage is not. Densities are highest on active rocks from tubeworm bushes and mussel beds, particularly at the Mound 12 location (1000 m). Species diversity is higher on rocks exposed to active seepage, with multiple species of gastropods and polychaetes dominant, while crustaceans, cnidarians, and ophiuroids were better represented on rocks at inactive sites. Macro-infauna (larger than 0.3 mm) from tube cores taken in nearby seep sediments at comparable depths exhibited densities similar to those on carbonate rocks, but had lower diversity and different taxonomic composition. Seep sediments had higher densities of ampharetid, dorvilleid, hesionid, cirratulid and lacydoniid polychaetes, whereas carbonates had more gastropods, as well as syllid, chrysopetalid and polynoid polychaetes. Stable isotope signatures and metrics: The stable isotope signatures of carbonates were heterogeneous, as were the food sources and nutrition used by the animals. Carbonate δ13Cinorg values (mean = -26.98‰) ranged from -53.3‰ to +10.0‰, and were significantly heavier than carbonate δ13Corg (mean = -33.83‰), which ranged from -74.4‰ to -20.6‰. Invertebrates on carbonates had average δ13C (per rock) = -31.0‰ (range -18.5‰ to -46.5‰) and δ15N = 5.7‰ (range -4.5‰ to +13.4‰). Average δ13C values did not differ between active and inactive sites; carbonate fauna from both settings depend on chemosynthesis-based nutrition. Community metrics reflecting trophic diversity (SEAc, total Hull Area, ranges of δ13C and δ15N) and species packing (mean distance to centroid, nearest neighbor distance) also did not vary as a function of seepage activity or site. However, distinct isotopic signatures were observed among related, co-occurring species of gastropods and polychaetes, reflecting intense microbial resource partitioning. Overall, the substrate and nutritional heterogeneity introduced by authigenic seep carbonates act to promote diverse, uniquely adapted assemblages, even after seepage ceases. The macrofauna in these ecosystems remain largely overlooked in most surveys, but are major contributors to biodiversity of chemosynthetic ecosystems and the deep sea in general.

Submarine Thermal Springs on the Galápagos Rift

Abstract: The submarine hydrothermal activity on and near the Galapagos Rift has been explored with the aid of the deep submersible Alvin Analyses of water samples from hydrothermal vents reveal that hydrothermal activity provides significant or dominant sources and sinks for several components of seawater; studies of conductive and convective heat transfer suggest that two-thirds of the heat lost from new oceanic lithosphere at the Galapagos Rift in the first million years may be vented from thermal springs, predominantly along the axial ridge within the rift valley The vent areas are populated by animal communities They appear to utilize chemosynthesis by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria to derive their entire energy supply from reactions between the seawater and the rocks at high temperatures, rather than photosynthesis

A Serpentinite-Hosted Ecosystem: The Lost City Hydrothermal Field

Abstract: The serpentinite-hosted Lost City hydrothermal field is a remarkable submarine ecosystem in which geological, chemical, and biological processes are intimately interlinked. Reactions between seawater and upper mantle peridotite produce methane- and hydrogen-rich fluids, with temperatures ranging from <40° to 90°C at pH 9 to 11, and carbonate chimneys 30 to 60 meters tall. A low diversity of microorganisms related to methane-cycling Archaea thrive in the warm porous interiors of the edifices. Macrofaunal communities show a degree of species diversity at least as high as that of black smoker vent sites along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, but they lack the high biomasses of chemosynthetic organisms that are typical of volcanically driven systems.

Symbiotic diversity in marine animals: the art of harnessing chemosynthesis

Abstract: Chemosynthetic symbioses occur in a wide range of ocean habitats, from deep-sea vents and cold seeps to whale falls and shallow-water sediments. This Review reveals the diversity and complexity of these symbioses, some of which include multiple symbiotic partners. Chemosynthetic symbioses between bacteria and marine invertebrates were discovered 30 years ago at hydrothermal vents on the Galapagos Rift. Remarkably, it took the discovery of these symbioses in the deep sea for scientists to realize that chemosynthetic symbioses occur worldwide in a wide range of habitats, including cold seeps, whale and wood falls, shallow-water coastal sediments and continental margins. The evolutionary success of these symbioses is evident from the wide range of animal groups that have established associations with chemosynthetic bacteria; at least seven animal phyla are known to host these symbionts. The diversity of the bacterial symbionts is equally high, and phylogenetic analyses have shown that these associations have evolved on multiple occasions by convergent evolution. This Review focuses on the diversity of chemosynthetic symbionts and their hosts, and examines the traits that have resulted in their evolutionary success.

Biogeography, biodiversity and fluid dependence of deep-sea cold-seep communities at active and passive margins

Abstract: To date, several cold-seep areas which fuel chemosynthesis-based benthic communities have been explored, mainly by deployment of manned submersibles. They are located in the Atlantic and in the Eastern and Western Pacific oceans and in the Mediterranean Sea, in depths ranging between 400 and 6000 m in different geological contexts in passive and active margins. Our study is based on a review of the existent literature on 24 deep cold seeps. The geographic distribution of seeps, the variations of origin and composition of fluids, and rates of fluid flow are presented as they are important factors which explain the spatial heterogeneity and the biomass of biological communities. Methane-rich fluid of thermogenic and/or biogenic origin is the principal source of energy for high-productive communities; however, production of sulphide by sulphate reduction in the sediment also has a major role. The dominant seep species are large bivalves belonging to the families Vesicomyidae or Mytilidae. Other symbiont-containing species occur belonging to Solemyidae, Thyasiridae, Lucinidae bivalves, Pogonophora worms, Cladorhizidae and Hymedesmiidae sponges. Most of the symbiont-containing cold-seep species are new to science. Different symbiont-containing species rely on sulphide or methane oxidation, or both, via chemoautotrophic endosymbiotic bacteria. A total of 211 species, from which 64 are symbiont-containing species, have been inventoried. Patterns in biodiversity and biogeography are proposed. A large majority of the species are endemic to a seep area and the symbiont-containing species are mainly endemic to the cold-seep ecosystem. A comparison of species found in other deep chemosynthesis-based ecosystems, hydrothermal vents, whale carcass and shipwreck reduced habitats, reveals from the existing data, that only 13 species, of which five are symbiont-containing species occur, at both seeps and hydrothermal vents. The species richness of cold-seep communities decreases with depth. High diversity compared to that on hydrothermal vent sites is found at several seeps. This may be explained by the duration of fluid flow, the sediment substrate which may favour long-term conditions with accumulation of sulphide and the evolution of cold seeps.