Dataset Information

Pelagic tunicates at shallow hydrothermal vents of Kueishantao.

ABSTRACT: The composition and abundance of the major zooplankton taxon tunicates were analyzed in a multi-year study and correlated with environmental parameters in the area around the hydrothermal vent field of Kueishantao (Turtle Island) in Taiwan. This provided the first study about tunicates above hydrothermal vents worldwide. We chose seven different stations for sample collection. Sampling was carried out in September of 2009, 2014, and 2015 (autumn) and June 2015 (summer). A total of ten tunicate species were identified belonging to the classes Appendicularia and Thaliacea during the above periods throughout the area. Considering the limited diversity of these organisms worldwide (40 species are identified in each class), we affirm that Kueishantao, a shallow water hydrothermal vent field, with 10 species provided an unexpected biodiversity hot spot for pelagic tunicates. The sampling of the organisms in the surface waters provided higher abundances compared to oblique tows. Comparing results from three autumn seasons we found that temperature values correlated with changes in tunicate abundances. We discovered strong seasonal changes in pelagic tunicate abundances over the entire survey period, with the highest abundances observed during autumn.

SUBMITTER: Franco P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6894864 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Pelagic tunicates at shallow hydrothermal vents of Kueishantao.

Franco Pietro P Dahms Hans-Uwe HU Hwang Jiang-Shiou JS

PloS one 20191205 12

The composition and abundance of the major zooplankton taxon tunicates were analyzed in a multi-year study and correlated with environmental parameters in the area around the hydrothermal vent field of Kueishantao (Turtle Island) in Taiwan. This provided the first study about tunicates above hydrothermal vents worldwide. We chose seven different stations for sample collection. Sampling was carried out in September of 2009, 2014, and 2015 (autumn) and June 2015 (summer). A total of ten tunicate s ...[more]

PMID: 31805084

Similar Datasets

Project description:Shallow hydrothermal vents are of pivotal relevance for ocean biogeochemical cycles, including seawater dissolved heavy metals and trace elements as well as the carbonate system balance. The Kueishan Tao (KST) stratovolcano off Taiwan is associated with numerous hydrothermal vents emitting warm sulfur-rich fluids at so-called White Vents (WV) and Yellow Vent (YV) that impact the surrounding seawater masses and habitats. The morphological and biogeochemical consequences caused by a M5.8 earthquake and a C5 typhoon ("Nepartak") hitting KST (12th May, and 2nd-10th July, 2016) were studied within a 10-year time series (2009-2018) combining aerial drone imagery, technical diving, and hydrographic surveys. The catastrophic disturbances triggered landslides that reshaped the shoreline, burying the seabed and, as a consequence, native sulfur accretions that were abundant on the seafloor disappeared. A significant reduction in venting activity and fluid flow was observed at the high-temperature YV. Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC) maxima in surrounding seawater reached 3000-5000 µmol kg-1, and Total Alkalinity (TA) drawdowns were below 1500-1000 µmol kg-1 lasting for one year. A strong decrease and, in some cases, depletion of dissolved elements (Cd, Ba, Tl, Pb, Fe, Cu, As) including Mg and Cl in seawater from shallow depths to the open ocean followed the disturbance, with a recovery of Mg and Cl to pre-disturbance concentrations in 2018. The WV and YV benthic megafauna exhibited mixed responses in their skeleton Mg:Ca and Sr:Ca ratios, not always following directions of seawater chemical changes. Over 70% of the organisms increased skeleton Mg:Ca ratio during rising DIC (higher CO2) despite decreasing seawater Mg:Ca ratios showing a high level of resilience. KST benthic organisms have historically co-existed with such events providing them ecological advantages under extreme conditions. The sudden and catastrophic changes observed at the KST site profoundly reshaped biogeochemical processes in shallow and offshore waters for one year, but they remained transient in nature, with a possible recovery of the system within two years.

Project description:BackgroundGeothermal systems have contributed greatly to both our understanding of the functions of extreme life and the evolutionary history of life itself. Shallow-sea hydrothermal systems are ecological intermediates of deep-sea systems and terrestrial springs, harboring unique and complexed ecosystems, which are well-lit and present physicochemical gradients. The microbial communities of deep-sea and terrestrial geothermal systems have been well-studied at the population genome level, yet little is known about the communities inhabiting the shallow-sea hydrothermal systems and how they compare to those inhabiting other geothermal systems.ResultsHere, we used genome-resolved metagenomic and metaproteomic approaches to probe into the genetic potential and protein expression of microorganisms from the shallow-sea vent fluids off Kueishantao Island. The families Nautiliaceae and Campylobacteraceae within the Epsilonbacteraeota and the Thiomicrospiraceae within the Gammaproteobacteria were prevalent in vent fluids over a 3-year sampling period. We successfully reconstructed the in situ metabolic modules of the predominant populations within the Epsilonbacteraeota and Gammaproteobacteria by mapping the metaproteomic data back to metagenome-assembled genomes. Those active bacteria could use the reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle or Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle for autotrophic carbon fixation, with the ability to use reduced sulfur species, hydrogen or formate as electron donors, and oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor via cytochrome bd oxidase or cytochrome bb3 oxidase. Comparative metagenomic and genomic analyses revealed dramatic differences between submarine and terrestrial geothermal systems, including microbial functional potentials for carbon fixation and energy conversion. Furthermore, shallow-sea hydrothermal systems shared many of the major microbial genera that were first isolated from deep-sea and terrestrial geothermal systems, while deep-sea and terrestrial geothermal systems shared few genera.ConclusionsThe metabolic machinery of the active populations within Epsilonbacteraeota and Gammaproteobacteria at shallow-sea vents can mirror those living at deep-sea vents. With respect to specific taxa and metabolic potentials, the microbial realm in the shallow-sea hydrothermal system presented ecological linkage to both deep-sea and terrestrial geothermal systems. Video Abstract.

Dataset Information

Pelagic tunicates at shallow hydrothermal vents of Kueishantao.

Publications

Pelagic tunicates at shallow hydrothermal vents of Kueishantao.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets