Faunal Survey of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents and Cold Seeps Off Northern California and Oregon

Field Museum Of Natural History, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

New, comprehensive collections of marine macrofauna will be made at hydrothermal vents on Gorda Ridge, a geographically isolated Northeast Pacific ridge that has been subject to local extinctions, and at deep cold seeps on the Monterey Fan Valley system. Collections of invertebrates from the Gorda Ridge vents and from cold seeps, chemically similar areas where taxa depend on reduced fluids released independent of hydrothermal vents to sustain chemosynthesis, will document the species present, their level of habitat restriction and assess how physical differences among these habitats affect species diversity. The isolation of Gorda Ridge vents from other North Pacific vents by a 350 km offset suggests that their fauna may be distinct; the contrast between the sedimented southern and the rocky northern vents on this ridge heightens the scientific benefit to be derived from these collections. A guide to the identification of North Pacific vent and seep taxa will be made available on the web and on a CD-ROM.