Project: RAPID: Larval Abundance, Behavior and Dispersal at Deep-sea Hydrothermal Vents in the Southern Mariana Trough

NSF Award Abstract:
Summary: Since the discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents over thirty years ago, scientists have been perplexed by the question: How are these vent sites colonized and, more specifically, How are the faunal populations established and maintained at these very discrete and often ephemeral habitats. For animals that are sessile or have limited mobility as adults, dispersal to these habitats occurs early in the life cycle, as planktonic larvae in the water column. Due to the difficulties in sampling deep-sea larvae, including low abundances (dilute concentrations), we have very few quantitative estimates of larval dispersal between or larval supply to hydrothermal vents. We also have little to no knowledge of the behavior of vent larvae. The PIs will use large-volume plankton pumps to collect larvae near vents in the southern Mariana Trough in a collaborative effort to quantify larval abundance, behavior, and dispersal in this little-studied region. The collaboration combines the PI's strengths in the collection and morphological identification of larvae and quantifying and modeling dispersal between deep-sea vents, and those of Japanese partners in rearing larvae of hydrothermal vent fauna, molecular genetic identification of larvae, and population genetics of vent fauna.

Intellectual merit: The southern Mariana Trough is a very interesting region in which to study dispersal of vent-endemic fauna, due to the proximity of vents in the back-arc spreading center to vents along the Mariana Arc. These two tectonic settings create different habitat conditions and support vent communities with different species composition. Vent sites the PIs will visit, in the axis and just off-axis of the back-arc spreading center are as close as 25 km to vents on the arc, yet 600 km south of the other known vents in the back-arc. In addition to the new information on larval abundance, diversity, behavior, and dispersal that will be gained for this little-studied region of the world's ridge system, this project has direct relevance to the integration and synthesis goals of the U.S. Ridge 2000 Program. The PI's lab group has conducted previous work at the Ridge 2000 East Pacific Rise (EPR) Integrated Studies Site (ISS). They will be making a direct comparison of the larval abundance and diversity at the EPR ISS to this very different setting along the global 'baseball seam' of oceanic spreading centers. No other such comparison has been possible due to the lack of sampling effort for larvae with large-volume pumps. Also, they are proposing the first experiments with live vent larvae (to the best of our knowledge - with the exception of brachyuran megalopae at 1 atm) to estimate swimming and sinking rates that are important for adding behavioral information to models of larval dispersal.

Broader Impacts: The project involves reciprocal training and cultural exchange - the PIs will learn field and laboratory research techniques from the Japanese PIs, and they will learn from the U.S. PIs. The project will also benefit the career development of a junior researcher (Beaulieu). The proposed activity broadens the participation of both U.S. and Japanese women scientists in sea-going, oceanographic research. The PIs will broadcast the cruise activities in a web log posted by the international InterRidge Program Office, and they anticipate at least three scientific publications will emerge. New species will be added to the online photographic identification guide for vent larvae and included in the second edition of the printed guide.

Additional cruise data and information are available from MGDS: http://www.marine-geo.org/tools/search/entry.php?id=YK10-11