Ecology of Mid-Atlantic Ridge Hydrothermal Vents: Food Web Analysis Using Multiple Molecular and Isotopic Techniques

虽然有机碳的非光合作用来源被认为是深海热液喷口无脊椎动物种群的主要能源，整个社区的碳转移细节尚未阐明。存在多种碳转移途径，在地理上不相交的地点，一种或另一种途径的优势程度差异很大。大西洋中脊喷口群落明显依赖与硫化物表面相关的自由生活初级生产，以支持大量代谢活跃的虾群。​这项研究将使用TAG站点在大西洋中脊为碳转移在一个通风口社区的案例研究。Van Dover博士和他的同事们将确定主要的营养联系，特别强调1)测试关于虾的食物来源的各种假设和2)确定空间同位素，基础饲料池的分类和生物量异质性、消费者对这些池的特异性程度以及消费者之间相互作用的强度。为了完成这些任务，他们将采用分子和同位素技术来定义独特的基础饮食池，并在食物网中追踪这些池的路径。实地项目将设计将空间异质性与由温度、矿物学分析和大型动物分析和分布确定的微生境特征联系起来。

While non-photosynthetic sources of organic carbon have been implicated as the primary energy source fueling invertebrate populations at deep-sea hydrothermal vents, details of carbon transfer have not been elucidated for an entire community. Multiple paths for transfer of carbon exist, and dominance by one or another path varies dramatically at geographically disjunct sites. Mid-Atlantic Ridge vent communities are striking in their apparent dependence on free-living primary production associated with sulfide surfaces to support large and metabolically active populations of shrimp. This research will use the TAG site on the Mid- Atlantic Ridge for a case-study of carbon transfer within a vent community. Dr. Van Dover and colleagues will identify the major trophic links, with particular emphasis on 1) testing alternative hypotheses regarding the source of food for shrimp and 2) determination of the spatial isotopic, taxonomic and biomass heterogeneity of basal dietary pools, the degree of specificity of consumers to these pools, and the strength of interactions between consumers. To accomplish these tasks, they will employ molecular and isotopic techniques to define distinctive basal dietary pools and to trace the paths of these pools through the food web. The field program will be designed to relate spatial heterogeneity to microhabitat characteristics as defined by temperature, mineralogical assays and macrofaunal assays and distributions.