Larvae from afar colonize deep-sea hydrothermal vents after a catastrophic eruption.

ABSTRACT: The planktonic larval stage is a critical component of life history in marine benthic species because it confers the ability to disperse, potentially connecting remote populations and leading to colonization of new sites. Larval-mediated connectivity is particularly intriguing in deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities, where the habitat is patchy, transient, and often separated by tens or hundreds of kilometers. A recent catastrophic eruption at vents near 9 degrees 50'N on the East Pacific Rise created a natural clearance experiment and provided an opportunity to study larval supply in the absence of local source populations. Previous field observations have suggested that established vent populations may retain larvae and be largely self-sustaining. If this hypothesis is correct, the rem

SUBMITTER: Mullineaux LS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2867905 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature