Gene Flow and Species Diversity in Deep Sea Hydrothermal Vent Communities

该项目将继续对深海热液喷口和冷水硫化物/碳氢化合物渗漏特有的生物进行种群遗传和分子系统研究。在过去的14年里，海洋探险队从世界上大多数已知的喷口和渗漏栖息地收集了大量乙醇和超低温保存的标本。这些标本将为评估目前知之甚少的生物地理省新发现的类群的进化亲缘关系提供基础。主要目标是探索两个鲜为人知的全球区域，它们可能在深海主要生物地理省份之间提供历史或现在的联系：东太平洋的复活节微板块区域和西太平洋的刘/斐济盆地。标本将用载人或无人潜水器采集，并保存在支撑船上，用于随后的分子和形态研究。分子分析(主要是DNA测序)将在本国机构的实验室进行。种群遗传分析将侧重于评估遗传多样性和地理结构，以及估计物种内的传播方式和基因流动速度。持续的系统研究将集中于为控制喷口的软体动物和环节动物群体发展强大的多基因系统发育。这项工作将有助于对生活在这些不同寻常的深海群落中的优势物种的系统地理和系统观点。许多本科生、研究生和博士后将从与该项目相关的实验室和海洋学经验中受益。新的信息将在专业文献中发表，并通过网上资源和介绍向公众提供。

This project will continue population genetic and molecular systematic studies of organisms endemic to deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold-water sulfide/hydrocarbon seeps. Oceanic expeditions over the past 14 years have amassed an extensive collection of ethanol- and cryopreserved specimens from most of the known vent and seep habitats in the world. These specimens will provide a foundation for assessing the evolutionary affinities of newly discovered taxa in biogeographical provinces that presently are poorly understood. Primary objectives are to explore two little known global regions that might provide historical or present-day connections between major biogeographical provinces in the deep-sea: the Easter Microplate region in the eastern Pacific and the Lau/Fiji Basins in the western Pacific. Specimens will be collected with manned or unmanned submersibles and preserved on board the support vessel for subsequent molecular and morphological studies. Molecular analyses (mostly DNA sequencing) will be conducted in a lab at the home institution. Population genetic analyses will focus on assessing genetic diversity and geographical structure, and on estimating modes of dispersal and rates of gene flow within species. Continuing systematic studies will focus on development of robust multi-gene phylogenies for the molluscan and annelid groups that dominate vents. This work will contribute to phylogeographic and systematic perspectives on the dominant species that live in these unusual abyssal communities. Numerous undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral students will benefit from laboratory and oceanographic experiences associated with this project. New information will be published in the professional literature and made available to the public through web-based resources and presentations.