Animal life in the shallow subseafloor crust at deep-sea hydrothermal vents

Monika Bright (), Sabine Gollner (), André Luiz Oliveira, Salvador Espada-Hinojosa, Avery Fulford, Ian Vincent Hughes, Stephane Hourdez, Clarissa Karthäuser, Ingrid Kolar, Nicole Krause, Victor Layec, Tihomir Makovec, Alessandro Messora, Jessica Mitchell, Philipp Pröts, Ivonne Rodríguez-Ramírez, Fanny Sieler, Stefan M. Sievert, Jan Steger, Tinkara Tinta, Teresa Rosa Maria Winter, Zach Bright, Russel Coffield, Carl Hill, Kris Ingram and Alex Paris
Additional contact information
Monika Bright: Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology
Sabine Gollner: Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)
André Luiz Oliveira: Max-Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology
Salvador Espada-Hinojosa: Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology
Avery Fulford: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Ian Vincent Hughes: Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Stephane Hourdez: Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls
Clarissa Karthäuser: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Ingrid Kolar: Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology
Nicole Krause: Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology
Victor Layec: Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls
Tihomir Makovec: National Institute of Biology
Alessandro Messora: Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)
Jessica Mitchell: Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Philipp Pröts: Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology
Ivonne Rodríguez-Ramírez: School of Biology
Fanny Sieler: Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)
Stefan M. Sievert: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Jan Steger: Department of Palaeontology
Tinkara Tinta: National Institute of Biology
Teresa Rosa Maria Winter: Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology
Zach Bright: Schmidt Ocean Institute
Russel Coffield: Schmidt Ocean Institute
Carl Hill: Schmidt Ocean Institute
Kris Ingram: Schmidt Ocean Institute
Alex Paris: Schmidt Ocean Institute

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract It was once believed that only microbes and viruses inhabited the subseafloor crust beneath hydrothermal vents. Yet, on the seafloor, animals like the giant tubeworm Riftia pachyptila thrive. Their larvae are thought to disperse in the water column, despite never being observed there. We hypothesized that these larvae travel through the subseafloor via vent fluids. In our exploration, lifting lobate lava shelves revealed adult tubeworms and other vent animals in subseafloor cavities. The discovery of vent endemic animals below the visible seafloor shows that the seafloor and subseafloor faunal communities are connected. The presence of adult tubeworms suggests larval dispersal through the recharge zone of the hydrothermal circulation system. Given that many of these animals are host to dense bacterial communities that oxidize reduced chemicals and fix carbon, the extension of animal habitats into the subseafloor has implications for local and regional geochemical flux measurements. These findings underscore the need for protecting vents, as the extent of these habitats has yet to be fully ascertained.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52631-9

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