A hybrid zone between Bathymodiolus mussel lineages from eastern Pacific hydrothermal vents.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The inhabitants of deep-sea hydrothermal vents occupy ephemeral island-like habitats distributed sporadically along tectonic spreading-centers, back-arc basins, and volcanically active seamounts. The majority of vent taxa undergo a pelagic larval phase, and thus varying degrees of geographical subdivision, ranging from no impedance of dispersal to complete isolation, often exist among taxa that span common geomorphological boundaries. Two lineages of Bathymodiolus mussels segregate on either side of the Easter Microplate, a boundary that separates the East Pacific Rise from spreading centers connected to the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge.

Results

A recent sample from the northwest flank of the Easter Microplate contained an admixture of northern and southern mitochondri

SUBMITTER: Johnson SB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3740784 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature