Microbial Transformations at Deep Sea Hydrothermal Vents

深海热液喷口的发现引发了对整个生态系统如何通过初级生产来源获得燃料的戏剧性反思。现在我们知道，海洋细菌的化学合成生产可以在十年前意想不到的地方支持多样化、繁荣和不寻常的生物群落。硫化合物的使用对深海热液喷口很重要，它激发了人们对更接近我们日常体验的世界的兴趣——盐沼、红树林系统、污水排放和处理系统。这些发现也激发了人们对其他类型的基于化学的合成系统的极大兴趣，例如，新发现的动物/细菌结合利用海底碳氢化合物渗漏中的甲烷（天然气）的能力。Jannasch博士在喷口生态系统令人兴奋的微生物学研究方面一直是全国乃至世界的领导者之一。他在发现、鉴定和描述海军生物形态方面卓有成效。拟议的研究将继续这些调查，并开始评估深海细菌产生的有机生物量（食物）如何通过食物网转移到相关动物身上。生物海洋学项目建议在以下级别支持Jannasch博士的研究：87财年，128,101美元；88财年，157,130美元；FY89, 164769美元。

The discovery of the hydrothermal vents of the deep-sea has led to dramatic rethinking of how entire ecosystems can be fueled through primary production sources. Chemosynthetic production by marine bacteria are now known to support diverse, thriving and unusual communities of living organisms in locations that would have been unexpected a decade ago. The use of sulfur compounds, important to deep-sea hydrothermal vents, has sparked an interest in worlds which are closer to our everyday experience -- salt marshes, mangrove systems, and sewage outfalls and treatment systems. These discoveries have also stimulated a great interest in other types of chemical-based synthetic systems, for example, the newly discovered ability of animal/bacterial associations to utilize methane (natural gas) in hydrocarbon seeps on the sea floor. Dr. Jannasch has been one of the nation's and world's leaders in the study of the exciting microbiology of the vent ecosystems. He has been extremely productive in the discovery, identification, and characterization of naval life forms. The proposed studies will continue these investigations and begin to assess how the organic biomass (food) produced by the deep-sea bacteria is transferred in the food web to associated animals. The Biological Oceanography Program recommends support for Dr. Jannasch's investigations at the following levels: FY87, $128,101, FY88, $157,130; FY89, $164,769.