Hydrothermal Vents
Hydrothermal vents in the deep sea have an interesting fauna specially adapted for living not only in the deep sea but for living in a special part of the deep sea where cracks in the earth's crust have created an often hot, sulphurous anoxic environment. Only one opisthobranch, Dendronotus comteti, has been positively identified from this environment although as Angel Valdes notes, large unidentified nudibranchs have been reported from an active hydrothermal vent in the Bering Sea (Sagalevich et al.,1992).
Reference:
Valdés, A. & Bouchet, P. 1998. Naked in toxic fluids: a nudibranch mollusc from hydrothermal vents. Deep Sea Research Part II: Tropical Studies in Oceanography, 45: 319-327.
Rudman, W.B., 2001 (October 4) Hydrothermal Vents. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/vents
Related messages
Nudibranch and Hydrothermal Vents
October 7, 2001
From: Emily
Hi,
I am a marine bio student and starting a paper on Nudibranchs and their relationship with hydrothermal vents. Information on this seems to be limited, and I was hoping you might have some pointers for sources, journals, or any background info that you yourself have.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Emily
ens0770@tamug.tamu.edu
Emily, 2001 (Oct 7) Nudibranch and Hydrothermal Vents. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5392Dear Emily,
I must admit that I had never really associated nudibranchs with hydrothermal vents but have found one reference which you might follow up.
Valdés, A. & Bouchet, P. 1998. Naked in toxic fluids: a nudibranch mollusc from hydrothermal vents. Deep Sea Research Part II: Tropical Studies in Oceanography, 45: 319-327.
Other than referring to that publication, I suspect your paper will be fairly short.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Re: Nudibranchs from Hydrothermal Vents
October 7, 2001
From: Angel Valdés
Dear Emily,
Concerning your question. There is only one species of opisthobranch known from hydrothermal vents, Dendronotus comteti Valdés & Bouchet, 1998, described from the Lucky Strike area in the Mid-Atlantic ridge. Sagalevich et al.(1992) reported large nudibranchs and their "characteristic planispiral egg sets up to 30 cm in size" from an active hydrothermal vent in the Bering Sea. However, the identity of these animals has not been confirmed and the description is too short to even determine whether they are opisthobranchs or something else.
It is still unknown how these naked Dendronotus are able to survive in such a toxic environment. Shells and crustaceans found in hydrothermal vents are normally heavily corroded. It appears that
the nudibranchs inhabit the peripheral areas with lower hydrothermal activity, but still very toxic. The specimens were found in the proximity of hydroids, which probably constitute their food source. It is likely that more species of opisthobranchs will be found in hydrothermal vents in the future, it is just a matter of collecting effort.
Angel Valdés
avaldes@nhm.org
Valdés, A. , 2001 (Oct 7) Re: Nudibranchs from Hydrothermal Vents. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5409Dear Angel,
Thanks for your comments and the photos of Dendronotus comteti.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
