Fluid chemistry alters faunal trophodynamics but not composition on the deep-sea Capelinhos hydrothermal edifice (Lucky Strike vent field, Mid-Atlantic Ridge).
Alfaro-Lucas, Joan M; Martin, Daniel; Michel, Loïcet al.
[en] The recently discovered deep-sea Capelinhos hydrothermal edifice, ~ 1.5 km of the main Lucky Strike (LS) vent field (northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge), contrasts with the other LS edifices in having poorly-altered end-member hydrothermal fluids with low pH and chlorine, and high metal concentrations. Capelinhos unique chemistry and location offer the opportunity to test the effects of local abiotic filters on faunal community structure while avoiding the often-correlated influence of dispersal limitation and depth. In this paper, we characterize for the first time the distribution patterns of the Capelinhos faunal communities, and analyze the benthic invertebrates (> 250 µm) inhabiting diffusive-flow areas and their trophic structures (δ13C, δ15N and δ34S). We hypothesized that faunal communities would differ from those of the nearest LS vent edifices, showing an impoverished species subset due to the potential toxicity of the chemical environment. Conversely, our results show that: (1) community distribution resembles that of other LS edifices, with assemblages visually dominated by shrimps (close to high-temperature focused-fluid areas) and mussels (at low-temperature diffuse flow areas); (2) most species from diffuse flow areas are well-known LS inhabitants, including the bed-forming and chemosymbiotic mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus and (3) communities are as diverse as those of the most diverse LS edifices. On the contrary, stable isotopes suggest different trophodynamics at Capelinhos. The high δ15N and, especially, δ13C and δ34S values suggest an important role of methane oxidation (i.e., methanotrophy), rather than the sulfide oxidation (i.e., thiotrophy) that predominates at most LS edifices. Our results indicate that Capelinhos shows unique environmental conditions, trophic structure and trophodynamics, yet similar fauna, compared to other LS edifices, which suggest a great environmental and trophic plasticity of the vent faunal communities at the LS.
Research Center/Unit :
FOCUS - Freshwater and OCeanic science Unit of reSearch - ULiège MARE - Centre Interfacultaire de Recherches en Océanologie - ULiège
Alfaro-Lucas, Joan M ; Univ Brest, Ifremer, CNRS, Unité BEEP, 29280, Plouzané, France. jmalfarolucas@gmail.com ; Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada. jmalfarolucas@gmail.com
Martin, Daniel ; Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Blanes, Catalonia, Spain
Michel, Loïc ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Biologie, Ecologie et Evolution > Systématique et diversité animale ; Univ Brest, Ifremer, CNRS, Unité BEEP, 29280, Plouzané, France
Fluid chemistry alters faunal trophodynamics but not composition on the deep-sea Capelinhos hydrothermal edifice (Lucky Strike vent field, Mid-Atlantic Ridge).
We thank the captains and crews of R/V Pourquoi pas? and the pilots of the ROV Victor6000 for their assistance at sea. Marjolaine Matabos, Bérengère Husson, Florence Pradillon, Emmanuelle Omnes, Nicolas Gayet et Philippe Rodier from the Biology and Ecology of Deep Sea Ecosystems Laboratory (Ifremer) are acknowledged for their invaluable assistance at sea and in the lab. JMAL warmly thanks the Deep-Sea Biology Society, which supported him with the Dive Deeper Research Bursary, and especially Dr Rachel Jeffreys, for the patience and attention during those difficult COVID times. This research program was funded by an ANR research grant (ANR Lucky Scales ANR-14-CE02-0008-02). The project is part of the EMSO-Azores regional node, and of EMSO France/EMSO ERIC Research Infrastructure. This paper is a contribution of DM to the Consolidated Research Group on Marine Benthic Ecology of the Generalitat de Catalunya (2021SGR00405).We thank the captains and crews of R/V Pourquoi pas ? and the pilots of the ROV Victor6000 for their assistance at sea. Marjolaine Matabos, Bérengère Husson, Florence Pradillon, Emmanuelle Omnes, Nicolas Gayet et Philippe Rodier from the Biology and Ecology of Deep Sea Ecosystems Laboratory (Ifremer) are acknowledged for their invaluable assistance at sea and in the lab. JMAL warmly thanks the Deep-Sea Biology Society, which supported him with the Dive Deeper Research Bursary, and especially Dr Rachel Jeffreys, for the patience and attention during those difficult COVID times. This research program was funded by an ANR research grant (ANR Lucky Scales ANR-14-CE02-0008-02). The project is part of the EMSO-Azores regional node, and of EMSO France/EMSO ERIC Research Infrastructure. This paper is a contribution of DM to the Consolidated Research Group on Marine Benthic Ecology of the Generalitat de Catalunya (2021SGR00405).
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