An international team of ocean scientists, working with a robot and led by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, has uncovered a previously unknown ecosystem in volcanic chambers beneath the hydrothermal vents of the Eastern Pacific, just off the coast of Central America. This finding was reported by Phys.org, which cited the institute’s press service.
The researchers describe tunnel-like passages where tubeworms, mollusks, and bacteria form a thriving community. It was already known that tubeworms inhabit hydrothermal vents, but biologists had found little habitat at the ocean floor. The current work suggests that life can also take hold in the bottom passages themselves, creating a more intricate habitat network than once imagined.
According to the team, the discovery broadens the understanding of life’s distribution around deep-sea hydrothermal systems. There appear to be two distinct ecosystems in the vent vicinity: one situated near the surface of the vent structures and another that exists beneath them, secluded within subsurface channels.
When a new hydrothermal vent forms, nearby animals rapidly colonize the area, and the local ecosystem tends to develop quickly over a span of years. The precise mechanisms by which larval stages of tubeworms locate and settle into these fresh vent zones remain an area of ongoing inquiry for scientists.
Historical observations have suggested that human activity has altered the color of the oceans, a reminder that human influence can extend into the far reaches of the marine environment, even though the full implications of these changes are still being studied. This latest discovery adds another layer to the complex narrative of deep-sea life and its resilience in the face of environmental shifts.