Description: The Southwest Indian Ridge is an ultraslow-spreading mid-ocean ridge with numerous poorly-explored seamounts. The benthic fauna of seamounts are thought to be highly heterogeneous, within even small geographic areas. Here we report observations from a two-year opportunistic experiment, which was comprised of two deployments of mango wood and whale bones. One was deployed at 732 m on Coral Seamount (~32 °S) and the other at 750 m on Atlantis Bank (~41 °S), two areas with little background faunal knowledge and a significant distance from the continental shelf. The packages mimic natural organic falls, large parcels of food on the deep-sea floor that are important in fulfilling the nutritional needs and providing shelter and substratum for many deep-sea animals. A large number of species colonised the deployments: 69 species at Coral Seamount and 42 species at Atlantis Bank. The two colonising assemblages were different, however, with only 11 species in common. This is suggestive of both differing environmental conditions and potentially, barriers to dispersal between these seamounts. Apart from Xylophaga and Idas bivalves, few organic-fall specialists were present. Several putative new species have been observed, and three new species have been described from the experiments thus far. It is not clear, however, whether this is indicative of high degrees of endemism or simply a result of under-sampling at the regional level.

Description: Hydrothermal vents on mid-oceanic ridges are patchily distributed and host many taxa endemic to deep-sea chemosynthetic environments, whose dispersal may be constrained by geographical barriers. The aim of this study was to investigate the connectivity of three populations of the ‘scaly-foot gastropod’ (Chrysomallon squamiferum Chen et al., 2015), a species endemic to hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean, amongst two vent fields on the Central Indian Ridge (CIR) and Longqi field, the first sampled vent field on the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR). Connectivity and population structure across the two mid-oceanic ridges were investigated using a 489-bp fragment of the cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI) gene. Phylogeographical approaches used include measures of genetic differentiation (FST), reconstruction of parsimony haplotype network, mismatch analyses and neutrality tests. Relative migrants per generation were estimated between the fields. Significant differentiation (FST = 0.28–0.29, P 〈 0.001) was revealed between the vent field in SWIR and the two in CIR. Signatures were detected indicating recent bottleneck events followed by demographic expansion in all populations. Estimates of relative number of migrants were relatively low between the SWIR and CIR, compared with values between the CIR vent fields. The present study is the first to investigate connectivity between hydrothermal vents across two mid-ocean ridges in the Indian Ocean. The phylogeography revealed for C. squamiferum indicates low connectivity between SWIR and CIR vent populations, with implications for the future management of environmental impacts for seafloor mining at hydrothermal vents in the region, as proposed for Longqi.

Description: Geological, biological, morphological and hydrochemical data are presented for the newly discovered Moytirra vent field at 45oN. This is the only high temperature hydrothermal vent known between the Azores and Iceland, in the North Atlantic and is located on a slow to ultraslow-spreading mid-ocean ridge uniquely situated on the 300 m high fault scarp of the eastern axial wall, 3.5 km from the axial volcanic ridge crest. Furthermore, the Moytirra vent field is, unusually for tectonically controlled hydrothermal vents systems, basalt hosted and perched mid-way up on the median valley wall and presumably heated by an off-axis magma chamber. The Moytirra vent field consists of an alignment of four sites of venting, three active emitting “black smoke", producing a complex of chimneys and beehive diffusers. The largest chimney is 18 m tall and vigorously venting. The vent fauna described here are the only documented for the North Atlantic (Azores to Reykjanes Ridge) and significantly expands our knowledge of North Atlantic biodiversity. The surfaces of the vent chimneys are occupied by aggregations of gastropods (Peltospira sp.) and populations of alvinocaridid shrimp (Mirocaris sp. with Rimicaris sp. also present). Other fauna present include bythograeid crabs (Segonzacia sp.) and zoarcid fish (Pachycara sp.), but bathymodiolin mussels and actinostolid anemones were not observed in the vent field. The discovery of the Moytirra vent field therefore expands the known latitudinal distributions of several vent-endemic genera in the north Atlantic, and reveals faunal affinities with vents south of the Azores rather than north of Iceland.

Description: © Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Nature Communications 3 (2012): 620, doi:10.1038/ncomms1636.

Description: The Mid-Cayman spreading centre is an ultraslow-spreading ridge in the Caribbean Sea. Its extreme depth and geographic isolation from other mid-ocean ridges offer insights into the effects of pressure on hydrothermal venting, and the biogeography of vent fauna. Here we report the discovery of two hydrothermal vent fields on the Mid-Cayman spreading centre. The Von Damm Vent Field is located on the upper slopes of an oceanic core complex at a depth of 2,300 m. High-temperature venting in this off-axis setting suggests that the global incidence of vent fields may be underestimated. At a depth of 4,960 m on the Mid-Cayman spreading centre axis, the Beebe Vent Field emits copper-enriched fluids and a buoyant plume that rises 1,100 m, consistent with 〉 400 °C venting from the world’s deepest known hydrothermal system. At both sites, a new morphospecies of alvinocaridid shrimp dominates faunal assemblages, which exhibit similarities to those of Mid-Atlantic vents.

Description: This work is supported by a UK NERC award (NE/F017774/1 & NE/F017758/1) to J.T.C., D.P.C., B.J.M., K.S. and P.A.T., Royal Society Travel Grant 2009/R3 to R.C.S., A.M. is supported by SENSEnet, a Marie Curie Initial Training Network (ITN) funded by the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme, Contract Number PITN-GA-2009-237868 and a NASA ASTEP Grant NNX09AB75G to C.R.G. and C.L.V.D., which are gratefully acknowledged.

Description: © The Author(s), 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PLoS Biology 10 (2012): e1001234, doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001234.

Description: Since the first discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents along the Galápagos Rift in 1977, numerous vent sites and endemic faunal assemblages have been found along mid-ocean ridges and back-arc basins at low to mid latitudes. These discoveries have suggested the existence of separate biogeographic provinces in the Atlantic and the North West Pacific, the existence of a province including the South West Pacific and Indian Ocean, and a separation of the North East Pacific, North East Pacific Rise, and South East Pacific Rise. The Southern Ocean is known to be a region of high deep-sea species diversity and centre of origin for the global deep-sea fauna. It has also been proposed as a gateway connecting hydrothermal vents in different oceans but is little explored because of extreme conditions. Since 2009 we have explored two segments of the East Scotia Ridge (ESR) in the Southern Ocean using a remotely operated vehicle. In each segment we located deep-sea hydrothermal vents hosting high-temperature black smokers up to 382.8°C and diffuse venting. The chemosynthetic ecosystems hosted by these vents are dominated by a new yeti crab (Kiwa n. sp.), stalked barnacles, limpets, peltospiroid gastropods, anemones, and a predatory sea star. Taxa abundant in vent ecosystems in other oceans, including polychaete worms (Siboglinidae), bathymodiolid mussels, and alvinocaridid shrimps, are absent from the ESR vents. These groups, except the Siboglinidae, possess planktotrophic larvae, rare in Antarctic marine invertebrates, suggesting that the environmental conditions of the Southern Ocean may act as a dispersal filter for vent taxa. Evidence from the distinctive fauna, the unique community structure, and multivariate analyses suggest that the Antarctic vent ecosystems represent a new vent biogeographic province. However, multivariate analyses of species present at the ESR and at other deep-sea hydrothermal vents globally indicate that vent biogeography is more complex than previously recognised.

Description: The ChEsSo research programme was funded by a NERC Consortium Grant (NE/DO1249X/1) and supported by the Census of Marine Life and the Sloan Foundation, and the Total Foundation for Biodiversity (Abyss 2100)(SVTH) all of which are gratefully acknowledged. We also acknowledge NSF grant ANT-0739675 (CG and TS), NERC PhD studentships NE/D01429X/1(LH, LM, CNR), NE/H524922/1(JH) and NE/F010664/1 (WDKR), a Cusanuswerk doctoral fellowship, and a Lesley & Charles Hilton-Brown Scholarship, University of St. Andrews (PHBS).

Description: © The Author(s), 2019. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Chapman, A. S. A., Beaulieu, S. E., Colaco, A., Gebruk, A. V., Hilario, A., Kihara, T. C., Ramirez-Llodra, E., Sarrazin, J., Tunnicliffe, V., Amon, D. J., Baker, M. C., Boschen-Rose, R. E., Chen, C., Cooper, I. J., Copley, J. T., Corbari, L., Cordes, E. E., Cuvelier, D., Duperron, S., Du Preez, C., Gollner, S., Horton, T., Hourdez, S., Krylova, E. M., Linse, K., LokaBharathi, P. A., Marsh, L., Matabos, M., Mills, S. W., Mullineaux, L. S., Rapp, H. T., Reid, W. D. K., Rybakova (Goroslavskaya), E., Thomas, T. R. A., Southgate, S. J., Stohr, S., Turner, P. J., Watanabe, H. K., Yasuhara, M., & Bates, A. E. sFDvent: a global trait database for deep-sea hydrothermal-vent fauna. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 28(11), (2019): 1538-1551, doi: 10.1111/geb.12975.

Description: Motivation Traits are increasingly being used to quantify global biodiversity patterns, with trait databases growing in size and number, across diverse taxa. Despite growing interest in a trait‐based approach to the biodiversity of the deep sea, where the impacts of human activities (including seabed mining) accelerate, there is no single repository for species traits for deep‐sea chemosynthesis‐based ecosystems, including hydrothermal vents. Using an international, collaborative approach, we have compiled the first global‐scale trait database for deep‐sea hydrothermal‐vent fauna – sFDvent (sDiv‐funded trait database for the Functional Diversity of vents). We formed a funded working group to select traits appropriate to: (a) capture the performance of vent species and their influence on ecosystem processes, and (b) compare trait‐based diversity in different ecosystems. Forty contributors, representing expertise across most known hydrothermal‐vent systems and taxa, scored species traits using online collaborative tools and shared workspaces. Here, we characterise the sFDvent database, describe our approach, and evaluate its scope. Finally, we compare the sFDvent database to similar databases from shallow‐marine and terrestrial ecosystems to highlight how the sFDvent database can inform cross‐ecosystem comparisons. We also make the sFDvent database publicly available online by assigning a persistent, unique DOI. Main types of variable contained Six hundred and forty‐six vent species names, associated location information (33 regions), and scores for 13 traits (in categories: community structure, generalist/specialist, geographic distribution, habitat use, life history, mobility, species associations, symbiont, and trophic structure). Contributor IDs, certainty scores, and references are also provided. Spatial location and grain Global coverage (grain size: ocean basin), spanning eight ocean basins, including vents on 12 mid‐ocean ridges and 6 back‐arc spreading centres. Time period and grain sFDvent includes information on deep‐sea vent species, and associated taxonomic updates, since they were first discovered in 1977. Time is not recorded. The database will be updated every 5 years. Major taxa and level of measurement Deep‐sea hydrothermal‐vent fauna with species‐level identification present or in progress. Software format .csv and MS Excel (.xlsx).

Description: We would like to thank the following experts, who are not authors on this publication but made contributions to the sFDvent database: Anna Metaxas, Alexander Mironov, Jianwen Qiu (seep species contributions, to be added to a future version of the database) and Anders Warén. We would also like to thank Robert Cooke for his advice, time, and assistance in processing the raw data contributions to the sFDvent database using R. Thanks also to members of iDiv and its synthesis centre – sDiv – for much‐valued advice, support, and assistance during working‐group meetings: Doreen Brückner, Jes Hines, Borja Jiménez‐Alfaro, Ingolf Kühn and Marten Winter. We would also like to thank the following supporters of the database who contributed indirectly via early design meetings or members of their research groups: Malcolm Clark, Charles Fisher, Adrian Glover, Ashley Rowden and Cindy Lee Van Dover. Finally, thanks to the families of sFDvent working group members for their support while they were participating in meetings at iDiv in Germany. Financial support for sFDvent working group meetings was gratefully received from sDiv, the Synthesis Centre of iDiv (DFG FZT 118). ASAC was a PhD candidate funded by the SPITFIRE Doctoral Training Partnership (supported by the Natural Environmental Research Council, grant number: NE/L002531/1) and the University of Southampton at the time of submission. ASAC also thanks Dominic, Lesley, Lettice and Simon Chapman for their support throughout this project. AEB and VT are sponsored through the Canada Research Chair Programme. SEB received support from National Science Foundation Division of Environmental Biology Award #1558904 and The Joint Initiative Awards Fund from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. AC is supported by Program Investigador (IF/00029/2014/CP1230/CT0002) from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT). This study also had the support of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2013 granted to marine environmental sciences centre. Data compiled by AVG and EG were supported by Russian science foundation Grant 14‐50‐00095. AH was supported by the grant BPD/UI88/5805/2017 awarded by CESAM (UID/AMB/50017), which is financed by FCT/Ministério da Educação through national funds and co‐funded by fundo Europeu de desenvolvimento regional, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020. ERLL was partially supported by the MarMine project (247626/O30). JS was supported by Ifremer. Data on vent fauna from the East Scotia Ridge, Mid‐Cayman Spreading Centre, and Southwest Indian Ridge were obtained by UK natural environment research council Grants NE/D01249X/1, NE/F017774/1 and NE/H012087/1, respectively. REBR's contribution was supported by a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Victoria, funded by the Canadian Healthy Oceans Network II Strategic Research Program (CHONe II). DC is supported by a post‐doctoral scholarship (SFRH/BPD/110278/2015) from FCT. HTR was supported by the Research Council of Norway through project number 70184227 and the KG Jebsen Centre for Deep Sea Research (University of Bergen). MY was partially supported by grants from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (project codes: HKU 17306014, HKU 17311316).

Description: © The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Howell, K. L., Hilario, A., Allcock, A. L., Bailey, D. M., Baker, M., Clark, M. R., Colaco, A., Copley, J., Cordes, E. E., Danovaro, R., Dissanayake, A., Escobar, E., Esquete, P., Gallagher, A. J., Gates, A. R., Gaudron, S. M., German, C. R., Gjerde, K. M., Higgs, N. D., Le Bris, N., Levin, L. A., Manea, E., McClain, C., Menot, L., Mestre, N. C., Metaxas, A., Milligan, R. J., Muthumbi, A. W. N., Narayanaswamy, B. E., Ramalho, S. P., Ramirez-Llodra, E., Robson, L. M., Rogers, A. D., Sellanes, J., Sigwart, J. D., Sink, K., Snelgrove, P. V. R., Stefanoudis, P., V., Sumida, P. Y., Taylor, M. L., Thurber, A. R., Vieira, R. P., Watanabe, H. K., Woodall, L. C., & Xavier, J. R. A blueprint for an inclusive, global deep-sea ocean decade field program. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, (2020): 584861, doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.584861.

Description: The ocean plays a crucial role in the functioning of the Earth System and in the provision of vital goods and services. The United Nations (UN) declared 2021–2030 as the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The Roadmap for the Ocean Decade aims to achieve six critical societal outcomes (SOs) by 2030, through the pursuit of four objectives (Os). It specifically recognizes the scarcity of biological data for deep-sea biomes, and challenges the global scientific community to conduct research to advance understanding of deep-sea ecosystems to inform sustainable management. In this paper, we map four key scientific questions identified by the academic community to the Ocean Decade SOs: (i) What is the diversity of life in the deep ocean? (ii) How are populations and habitats connected? (iii) What is the role of living organisms in ecosystem function and service provision? and (iv) How do species, communities, and ecosystems respond to disturbance? We then consider the design of a global-scale program to address these questions by reviewing key drivers of ecological pattern and process. We recommend using the following criteria to stratify a global survey design: biogeographic region, depth, horizontal distance, substrate type, high and low climate hazard, fished/unfished, near/far from sources of pollution, licensed/protected from industry activities. We consider both spatial and temporal surveys, and emphasize new biological data collection that prioritizes southern and polar latitudes, deeper (〉 2000 m) depths, and midwater environments. We provide guidance on observational, experimental, and monitoring needs for different benthic and pelagic ecosystems. We then review recent efforts to standardize biological data and specimen collection and archiving, making “sampling design to knowledge application” recommendations in the context of a new global program. We also review and comment on needs, and recommend actions, to develop capacity in deep-sea research; and the role of inclusivity - from accessing indigenous and local knowledge to the sharing of technologies - as part of such a global program. We discuss the concept of a new global deep-sea biological research program ‘Challenger 150,’ highlighting what it could deliver for the Ocean Decade and UN Sustainable Development Goal 14.

Description: Development of this paper was supported by funding from the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) awarded to KH and AH as working group 159 co-chairs. KH, BN, and KS are supported by the UKRI funded One Ocean Hub NE/S008950/1. AH work is supported by the CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020 + 1432 UIDB/50017/2020) that is funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)/MCTES through national funds. AA is supported by Science Foundation Ireland and the Marine Institute under the Investigators Program Grant Number SFI/15/IA/3100 co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund 2014–2020. AC is supported through the FunAzores -ACORES 01-0145-FEDER-000123 grant and by FCT through strategic project UID/05634/2020 and FCT and Direção-Geral de Politica do Mar (DGPM) through the project Mining2/2017/005. PE is funded by national funds (OE), through FCT in the scope of the framework contract foreseen in the numbers 4, 5 and 6 of the article 23, of the Decree-Law 57/2016, of August 29, changed by Law 57/2017, of July 19. SG research is supported by CNRS funds. CG is supported by an Independent Study Award and the Investment in Science Fund at WHOI. KG gratefully acknowledges support from Synchronicity Earth. LL is funded by the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (NA19OAR0110305) and the US National Science Foundation (OCE 1634172). NM is supported by FCT and DGPM, through the project Mining2/2017/001 and the FCT grants CEECIND/00526/2017, UIDB/00350/2020 + UIDP/00350/2020. SR is funded by the FCTgrant CEECIND/00758/2017. JS is supported by ANID FONDECYT #1181153 and ANID Millennium Science Initiative Program #NC120030. JX research is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through the SponGES project (grant agreement no. 679849) and further supported by national funds through FCT within the scope of UIDB/04423/2020 and UIDP/04423/2020. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada supports AM and PVRS. MB and the Deep-Ocean Stewardship Initiative are supported by Arcadia - A charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin. BN work is supported by the NERC funded Arctic PRIZE NE/P006302/1.