iAtlantic has released a new science brief summarising key results from its research into the highly specialised hydrothermal vent communities found along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR), providing important insights for their sustainable management and protection.
Increasing our understanding of deep-sea ecosystems is essential as environmental change and human activities threaten marine biodiversity. iAtlantic’s new work on population genetics of hydrothermal vent fauna on the MAR has identified genetically different populations for several species, including vent limpets and vent mussels. These communities are spread along the MAR in isolated pockets determined by the location and intensity of hydrothermal activity at the seafloor, with specific vent fields acting as sources for some species and sinks for others. The continued survival of these species depends on their ability to disperse and colonise new areas, so understanding the distribution of existing populations and the exchanges between them is essential to predicting the resilience of vent communities to environmental change, including disturbance brought about by mining activities.
Genetic research conducted by iAtlantic scientists concluded that although vent shrimp are able to exchange relatively freely along the MAR, many other vent species are geographically isolated as a consequence of their limited dispersal capabilities. Dispersal is also affected by physical barriers, which have contributed to the creation of a multi-species hybrid zone between 26-36ºN on the MAR. Any natural or anthropogenic modification of hydrothermal activity in this extended zone could have major consequences for vent species, either by reinforcing their isolation or by creating bridges between previously isolated genetic units located further north or south.
These new results have important implications for the protection of these specialised ecosystems. Management strategies should take into account their degree of spatial isolation, their potential as sources for other populations, and careful consideration given to ensure the less dispersive species are accounted for. Temporal aspects must also be factored in as population connectivity may evolve through time, linked to the natural variation in hydrothermal venting intensity and location at the seafloor.
As competent authorities across the Atlantic basin work to develop management strategies to protect marine biodiversity, these new findings are important considerations for effective protection of hydrothermal vent communities.
