Hydrothermal activity lowers trophic diversity in Antarctic sedimented hydrothermal vents

Bell, J. B., Reid, W. D.K., Pearce, D. A., Glover, A. G., Sweeting, C. J., Newton, J. and Woulds, C. (2016) Hydrothermal activity lowers trophic diversity in Antarctic sedimented hydrothermal vents. Biogeosciences Discussions, (doi: 10.5194/bg-2016-318)

Abstract

Sedimented hydrothermal vents are those in which hydrothermal fluid vents through sediment and are among the least studied deep-sea ecosystems. We present a combination of microbial and biochemical data to assess trophodynamics between and within hydrothermally active and off-vent areas of the Bransfield Strait (1050–1647 m depth). Microbial composition, biomass and fatty acid signatures varied widely between and within vent and non-vent sites and provided evidence of diverse metabolic activity. Several species showed diverse feeding strategies and occupied different trophic positions in vent and non-vent areas and stable isotope values of consumers were generally not consistent with feeding structure morphology. Niche area and the diversity of microbial fatty acids reflected trends in species diversity and was lowest at the most hydrothermally active site. Faunal utilisation of chemosynthetic activity was relatively limited but was detected at both vent and non-vent sites as evidenced by carbon and sulphur isotopic signatures, suggesting that the hydrothermal activity can affect trophodynamics over a much wider area than previously thought.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: JBB was funded by a NERC PhD Studentship (NE/L501542/1). This work was funded by the NERC ChEsSo consortium (Chemosynthetically-driven Ecosystems South of the Polar Front, NERC Grant NE/DOI249X/I). Elemental analyses were funded by the NERC Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Facility (Proposal no. EK234-13/14).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: No
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Newton, Dr Jason
• Authors: Bell, J. B., Reid, W. D.K., Pearce, D. A., Glover, A. G., Sweeting, C. J., Newton, J., and Woulds, C.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
• Journal Name: Biogeosciences Discussions
• Publisher: European Geosciences Union
• ISSN: 1810-6277
• ISSN (Online): 1810-6285
• Published Online: 31 August 2016
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2016 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Biogeosciences Discussions 2016
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License