Ecology of Mid-Atlantic Ridge hydrothermal vents

Abstract

Abstract In the past year, the number of explored deep-water vent sites on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge has doubled. The fauna of Atlantic vents consists for the most part of a subset of invertebrate types found elsewhere in chemosynthetic ecosystems, with taxonomic differentiation usually at the species or genus level. Despite this similarity in taxonomic composition, the ecology of Atlantic vents differs from the ecology of Pacific vents in ways that highlight aspects of biogeography, trophic ecology and sensory adaptations.