Collaborative Research: Thermal biology of hydrothermal vent paralvinellid worms

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Alvinellid worms at deep-sea hydrothermal vents live in the highest temperature niches at vents in the Pacific. The genus Paralvinella exhibits an extreme thermal breadth between 2 to 55 C. The investigators have designed a comparative study on three paralvinellid species common at the Endeavor Integrated Study Site on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Of particular interest is P. sulfincola, which they have found to tolerate temperatures up to 55 C for short periods. Previously, no aquatic ectotherm has been studied alive above 45 C. Consequently, the research represents an unprecedented opportunity to investigate aquatic metazoan adaptation to extreme temperature. A combination of laboratory and in situ measurements will be implemented to determine thermal preference, tolerance, critical thermal maxima, and temperature ranges in nature for the three species. Affects of extreme environmental temperature on cellular viability will be measured. Physiological and biochemical studies will be used to characterize compensatory mechanisms. Metabolism, the role of circulation in thermal regulation, protein turnover, thermally stable enzymes, protective solutes, and mitochondrial Arrhenius breakpoints will be investigated. The broader impacts of the proposed research are to elucidate basic biochemical and physiological mechanisms of organisms. In addition to contributing to undergraduate and graduate research, results from this research will be widely be disseminated through teaching and outreach activities to undergraduates and non-specialists.