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

在过去十年中，生物学家已经了解到，热液动物群并不是全球性的，已知动物群的地理区域可能与地理和构造参数有关。其结果是一个地理难题，其中几个主要部分仍然失踪，由于其偏远的位置。在这些缺失的部分中，印度洋海脊系统是最重要的部分之一，也许是太平洋和大西洋动物群之间的联系。该项目将通过对中印度洋脊的一个热液喷口进行定位和取样来检验这一假设，该喷口已有一整套现有的初步数据，包括水深测量和羽流数据。该地点是"成熟的"，准备根据RIDGE社区制定的标准进行详细调查。 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特征。生态调查将研究营养相互作用，重点是阐明共生在系统中的作用，并将包括微生物多样性研究，动物群分布，生物多样性措施和其他描述性生态学。地质背景研究将查明对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。水热流体化学将建立端元流体化学和测量还原化合物在低温流体中的可用性，用于化能自养生产。硫化物和玄武岩表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地理的关键。这项研究将提供印度洋热液系统的初步视角，以及将其纳入全球洋中脊热液过程范围所需的数据。

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.