Biology

Biology Working Group Update
(July 2007)

Six working group members participated in a two-day meeting : Dr Gebruk from Russia, F. Zal from France, Anna Metaxas from Canada and Dr Jung Ho Hyun from Korea and the 2 co-chairs, F Gaill from France and K Juniper from Canada. Paul Tyler from UK was unable to attend because of flight cancellations, while Manuel Biscoito of Portugal and Olav Giere of Germany sent apologies. There was no news from Tim Shank of the USA and Ken Takai of Japan. Colin Devey, the new chair of InterRidge from the University of Bremen participated in discussions during the second day of the meeting.

Click here to access German translation of the six guidelines
Click here to access Russian translation

OVERVIEW:
As marine research scientists we especially appreciate the uniqueness and complexity of the deep-sea hydrothermal vent fauna and environments, and are particularly interested in preserving vents for their scientific, aesthetic, ecological, and potential economic values. In fact, because of the specialized nature of the equipment required to work at deep-sea hydrothermal vents, such as occupied and unoccupied research submersibles, scientists are the primary group of people who have the opportunity to visit these extraordinary environments. The potential for significant impact of scientific activities on a single vent site or a population of vent animals pales in comparison to the potential for disturbance by volcanic/tectonic events or industrial mining/harvesting activities. Nonetheless, we recognize that some scientific activities could adversely affect individual sites or impact communities more than is necessary, if research activities are not carefully planned and executed. In addition, because only a limited number of sites are currently known and scientists from a wide variety of disciplines frequently work at single locations, we recognize the potential for use conflicts among scientists, at sites where scientific activity is intense.

Report from the InterRidge Workshop: Management and Conservation of Hydrothermal Vent Ecosystems

Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney (Victoria), B.C., Canada
28 – 30 September, 2000

The discovery of chemosynthetic-based ecosystems at hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean was one of the most important findings in biological science in the latter half of the 20th century. More than 100 vent fields have been documented along the 50,000 km global mid-ocean ridge system. At this time, over 500 new animal species, over 80% of which are endemic to the vents, have been described from this environment1. Unusual, highly-evolved symbioses between invertebrates and chemolithautotrophic bacteria are common at vents, producing concentrations of biomass that rival the most productive ecosystems on Earth. The predominance of chemoautrophic and hyperthermophilic microbes in hydrothermal vent waters has stimulated new theories of the origin of life on Earth. It has also prompted astrobiologists to seriously consider geothermal energy as a viable power source for biosynthesis and maintenance of carbon-based life forms on other worlds.