COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Integrated Studies of Biological Community Structure at Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents

这项调查是一项综合计划，旨在评估东太平洋隆起(EPR)顶部9‘49.6 1’至9‘5 0.3 6’N(称为生物-地质样带)区域热液喷口生物群落结构的影响因素。这一多学科努力的目标是对深海喷口系统中影响生物群落结构(从微生物到大型动物)的生物、化学和物理特征、变异性和过程有一个全新的理解。研究地点的选择应最大限度地与其他工作人员提出的各种地球物理(例如地震)和地球化学(例如主要元素)研究相结合。该项目将解决以下广泛假设：(1)喷口生物群落结构的急剧变化与区域内的地震、构造和/或火山活动有关；(2)喷口流体化学(主要是硫化物形态和浓度)是控制喷口群落结构的主要因素；(3)与扩散流有关的微生物群落结构随时间、温度以及氧、铁、锰和硫形态的差异而变化。在该地区1991年4月喷发事件期间形成的9‘50N喷口中的几个地点，贻贝现在主导了动物群组合，而该地区的其他栖息地则由TevniaJerichonana或Riftiapachyptila占据主导地位。本方法建立在过去十年在这些地点获得的大量数据集的基础上，并提出了一系列现场测量、采样方法和使用深潜器AIvin进行的操纵实验，以更详细地了解控制这些热液生态系统生物群落结构的因素。为此，将使用现场伏安传感器组件测量各种vstientiferan和贻贝微生境中的化学物质、氧气、pH和温度，从这些微生境中将获得流体样本，用于微生物学表征。操纵性实验将侧重于将贻贝从以贻贝为主的组合的选定区域中移除和随后排除，以及在贻贝移除之前和之后相关微生境的详细的地质化学和微生物学特征。随后，将通过逐步清除和分析部署的玄武岩区块，在裸露地区以及邻近人口区域内的“控制”地区的隔离笼子内进行招募和定居。随之而来的流体化学、物理和微生物分析将使这些参数与群落结构的时间变化相关联。与近年来一样，所有调查人员都致力于积极参与各种教育和公共宣传活动。我们建议的工作的一个组成部分将是将拟议的研究与即将上映(2003年秋季)的IMAX电影(深海火山)有关的正式和非正式教育和外联活动密切协调。他们将与Stephen Low Productions(制作这部电影的公司)合作，制作一份正式的教师指南，并创建一个电影相关网站(www.VolcanoesoftheDeepsea.com)，该网站的域名已经获得。这部电影主题的一个组成部分是关注过去十年来在北纬9‘50’附近发生的生物群落结构变化。在每次拟议的前往该地区的巡航过程中，他们计划让全国各地的博物馆和水族馆(即那些拥有IMAX影院的公共教育机构)与科学教育工作者和NSF COSEE中心(海洋科学教育卓越中心)网络直接通过与网站直接相连的实时卫星网络，提供每日数据日志、图像、流媒体视频、这一倡议将与Ridge 2000教育和外联方案密切协调。

This ivestigation represent an integrated program designed to assess factors responsible for biological community structure at hydrothermal vents in the area between 9'49.6 1' and 9'5 0.3 6'N (known as the Biologic?Geologic Transect) along the crest of the East Pacific Rise (EPR). The objective of this multi?disciplinary effort is to gain a fundamental new understanding of the biological, chemical, and physical characteristics, variability, and processes affecting organism community structure (from microbes to megafauna) in deep?sea vent systems. Study sites have been selected that should maximize integration with a variety of geophysical (e.g., seismic) and geochemical (e.g., major element) studies being proposed by other workers. This project will address the following broad hypotheses: (1) Dramatic changes in biological community structure at vents are correlated with seismic, tectonic and/or volcanic activity within the region; (2) Vent fluid chemistry (principally sulfide speciation and concentration) is the predominant factor controlling the structure of vent communities; and (3) The structure of microbial communities associated with diffuse flows varies with time, temperature, and in response to differences in oxygen, iron, manganese and sulfur speciation. At several of the 9'50N vent sites that formed during an April 1991 eruptive event in the area, mussels now dominate the faunal assemblages, while other habitats within the region are dominated either by Tevniajerichonana or Riftiapachyptila. The present approach builds upon the extensive data sets obtained at these sites over the past decade and proposes a series of in situ measurements, sampling approaches and manipulative experiments conducted using the deep submergence vehicle AIvin to gain a more detailed understanding of factors controlling biological community structure in these hydrothermal ecosystems. To this end, in situ voltarnmetric sensor packages will be used to measure chemicals, oxygen, pH and temperature over time in a variety of vestimentiferan and mussel microhabitats from which fluid samples will be obtained for microbiological characterization. Manipulative experiments will focus on removal and subsequent exclusion of mussels from selected regions of mussel?dominated assemblages, coupled with detailed geochernical and microbiological characterization of associated microhabitats before and after mussel removal. Subsequentrecruitment and colonization within exclusion cages in denuded areas, as well as in "control" areaswithin adjacent regions of the population, will be followed through successive removal and analysisof deployed basalt blocks over time. Concomitant chemical, physical and microbiological analysesof fluids will permit correlation of these parameters with temporal changes in community structure. All of the investigators are committed, as they have been in recent years, to active involvement in a myriad of educational and public outreach activities. An integral part of our proposed effort will be to closely coordinate the proposed studies with, formal and informal education and outreach activities associated with an IMAX film (Volcanoes of the Deep Sea), scheduled soon for release (fall 2003). In conjunction with Stephen Low Productions (the company producing the film) they will put together a formal Teacher's Guide and create a film?associated website www.volcanoesofthedeepsea.com), for which the domain has already been secured. An integral part of the subject matter of the film focuses on changes in biological community structure that have occurred over the past decade in the vicinity of 9'50'N. During the course of each of the proposed cruises to the area, they plan to involve museums and aquaria (i.e., those public education institutions having IMAX theaters) throughout the country, together with science educators and the network of NSF COSEE Centers (Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence) directly through "real time" satellite networking tied directly to the website, providing daily data logs, images, streaming video, etc. This initiative will be closely coordinated with the Ridge 2000 Education and Outreach Program.