When talking about the deep sea, most people think that life
decreases the further down it goes and would eventually die out when there is
not enough light or debris to support it. This is not true, however, since it
has been proven that deep sea vents create their own biomes in which they
support life that no one would have normally suspected. The hydrothermal vents
create a biome in which the water is rich in heavy metals, minerals, and
hydrogen sulfide. The base of the food chain in this biome is bacteria that are
able to use the energy created from oxidizing the hydrogen sulfide. Organisms
are then able to feed on the bacteria, and the food chain goes from there.
The
organisms that live in this biome must have the adaptation to survive in such a
harsh environment. These adaptations differ from the species that we normally
encounter on Earth. This makes the hydrothermal vent biomes a large point of
interest. These hydrothermal vents have been studied since the 70s, but
hydrothermal seeps have not been studied until recently.
Hydrothermal seeps are
similar to vents in the fact that they support a biome in the deep seas where
life would not be expected.
These “cold vents” release methane which is used to
support the life present. Vents and seeps are normally found together in the
same areas, but there are cases in which a hydrothermal seep can be found
alone. These seeps are able to support tube worms, deep-sea fish, mussels, clam
beds, and crabs. There are many new species in the seeps as well. These species
must adapt to the colder environment of the seeps from the extremely hot
environment of the hydrothermal vents. It is amazing to find so much life in
such a unique area of the world. It draws scientists to the question of whether
systems like this are capable of occurring on different planets. This
eliminates the need for the sun and can be formed due to tectonic plate interactions
causing the release of chemicals and heat from the planet’s core. These
conditions may be possible on other planets.
microbewiki.kenyon.edu
upi.com
What types of adaptations are used by organisms to survive in such a unique environment?
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