East Pacific Rise: a hydrothermal ecosystem in unstable environnement
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- Last Updated: Tuesday, 17 November 2015 13:55
The East Pacific Rise (EPR) is one of the most active volcanic region of the seafloor. Areas of this mid-ocean ridge are affected by repeated and massive volcanic eruptions. Where lava flows have eradicated previous settlement of vent microbes and fauna , biological communities have been observed to reestablish around hydrothermal vent sites within years. The hydrothermal vent field EPR 9°50'N allowed the observation of this progressive recolonisation and the succession of so-called fondation species across scales of months to years together with changes in environmental conditions. Investigating this instable environment enables to shed light on the mechanisms governing deep-sea community dynamics and their responses to disturbance.
Hydrothermal vent species offer unique models to study adaptation strategies, from genes to ecosystems, to a wide range of environmental conditions and physico-chemical extremes. These model systems furthermore inform us about the response of deep-sea communities to multiple stressors including hypoxia, exposure to toxics or temperature fluctuations.