Characterization of an Indian Ocean Hydrothermal Vent -- CIR 24 degrees S: Biogeography and Ecology Within a Geochemical and Geological Context

在过去的十年中，生物学家已经了解到热液动物群并不是全球性的，已知动物群的生物地理区域可能与地理和构造参数相关。其结果是一个生物地理谜题，其中有几个主要部分由于位置偏远而仍然缺失。在这些缺失的碎片中，印度洋脊系统是最重要的一个，可能是太平洋和大西洋动物之间的纽带。该项目将对这一假设进行测试，方法是对印度中部山脊的一个热液喷口进行定位和取样，该喷口有一整套现有的初步数据，包括水深测量和地幔柱数据。该场地是“成熟的”，可以根据RIDGE社区建立的标准进行详细的调查。这项研究将采用六种主要方法：羽流勘探将重新定位德国和日本科学家观察到的羽流，并追踪这些羽流在海底的来源。生物地理学和进化生物学将包括无脊椎动物的分类鉴定和选定动物群的分子表征。生态调查将研究营养相互作用，重点是澄清共生在系统中的作用，并将包括微生物多样性研究、动物分布、生物多样性措施和其他描述性生态学。地质背景下的研究将确定流体流动的近端地质控制，并绘制喷口区内热液点的分布图。热液流体化学将建立端元流体化学，并测量低温流体中还原性化合物用于化学自养生产的有效性。硫化物和玄武岩特征将为热液环境提供矿物学背景。这些程序元素中的每一个都是解释动物群生物地理学的关键。这项研究将提供印度洋热液系统的初步视角，并提供将其置于全球洋中脊热液过程光谱中所需的数据。

Over the past decade, biologists have learned that hydrothermal faunas are not globally cosmopolitan and that biogeographic provinces of the known fauna may be correlated with geographic and tectonic parameters. The result is a biogeographic puzzle, from which several major pieces are still missing due to their remote locations. Of these missing pieces, the Indian Ocean ridge systems stand out as one of the most important, perhaps serving as the link between Pacific and Atlantic faunas. This project will test this hypothesis by locating and sampling a hydrothermal vent on the Central Indian Ridge for which there is a full suite of existing preliminary data, including bathymetry and plume data. The site is "mature", ready for detailed investigations according to standards established by the RIDGE community. Six major approaches will be utilized in this study: Plume Prospecting will relocate plumes observed by German and Japanese scientists and trace these plumes to their source on the seafloor. Biogeography and Evolutionary Biology will include taxonomic identifications of invertebrates and molecular characterization of selected fauna. Ecological Investigations will examine trophic interactions with an emphasis on clarifying the role of symbiosis in the system and will include microbial diversity studies, faunal distributions, biodiversity measures, and other descriptive ecology. Studies in a Geological Context will identify proximal geological controls on fluid flow and map the distribution of hydrothermal sites within the vent field. Hydrothermal Fluid Chemistry will establish end-member fluid chemistry and measure availability of reduced compounds in low-temperature fluids for chemoautotrophic production. Sulfide and Basalt Characterization will provide a mineralogical context for the hydrothermal setting. Each of these program elements are critical for interpretation of biogeography of the fauna. This study will provide a preliminary perspective of an Indian Ocean hydrothermal system and the data required to place it within the spectrum of global mid-ocean ridge hydrothermal processes.