CaltechAUTHORS
Published July 7, 2012 | Version public
Journal Article Metadata-only

A hydrothermal seep on the Costa Rica margin: middle ground in a continuum of reducing ecosystems

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Scripps Institution of Oceanography
  • 2. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 3. ROR icon Indiana State University
  • 4. ROR icon Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
  • 5. ROR icon Occidental College
  • 6. ROR icon Natural History Museum
  • 7. ROR icon Swedish Museum of Natural History
  • 8. ROR icon Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Abstract

Upon their initial discovery, hydrothermal vents and methane seeps were considered to be related but distinct ecosystems, with different distributions, geomorphology, temperatures, geochemical properties and mostly different species. However, subsequently discovered vents and seep systems have blurred this distinction. Here, we report on a composite, hydrothermal seep ecosystem at a subducting seamount on the convergent Costa Rica margin that represents an intermediate between vent and seep ecosystems. Diffuse flow of shimmering, warm fluids with high methane concentrations supports a mixture of microbes, animal species, assemblages and trophic pathways with vent and seep affinities. Their coexistence reinforces the continuity of reducing environments and exemplifies a setting conducive to interactive evolution of vent and seep biota.

Additional Information

© 2012 The Royal Society. Received January 27, 2012; Accepted February 13, 2012. We thank the Captain and crew of the RV Atlantis, the Alvin Pilots, as well as scientific participants of AT 15_59, especially A. Thurber, G. Mendoza and A. Dekas for their assistance at sea. We also thank H. Sahling and M. Tryon for their assistance in providing maps and other location information, H. Carson and R. Vargas for their observations during AD 4513, and P. Tavormina, S. Connon and M. Muscovova for their assistance and contributions to the molecular community analysis. Two anonymous reviewers provided constructive comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. The research was supported by the US National Science Foundation grants OCE 0826254, 0825436, 0825791, 0939559 and 0939557.

Additional details

Identifiers

PMCID
PMC3350710
Eprint ID
32041
DOI
10.1098/rspb.2012.0205
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20120622-114155202

Related works

Describes
10.1098/rspb.2012.0205 (DOI)

Funding

NSF
OCE-0826254
NSF
OCE-0825436
NSF
OCE-0825791
NSF
OCE-0939559
NSF
OCE-0939557

Dates

Created
2012-06-22
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2021-11-09
Created from EPrint's last_modified field

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS)