Larval dispersal from hydrothermal vent fields quantified
Monday, March 21, 2016 - 07:20
in Earth & Climate
Deep below the ocean's surface are hydrothermal vent fields, or submarine hot springs that can reach temperatures of up to 400 °C. These fields are surrounded by a unique set of animals, including vent crabs and eyeless vent shrimp, that survive off of the chemicals emitted from the hydrothermal vents. Recently, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) researchers and collaborators have computed the dispersal of larvae from these hydrothermal vent ecosystems to understand and safeguard the animals found there. The results have been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).