In collaboration with Prof. Kristin Tessmar-Raible (University of Vienna), Prof. Todd Oakley (USCB), and Prof. Marjolaine Matabos (IFREMER)

This is a new project, funded by the Human Frontiers Science Program (announcement):

“On terrestrial environments it is the sun that dominates the rhythms of life, but in the ocean the moon plays decisive roles. Through its tidal forces, the moon even causes rhythmicity in deep-sea environments that are out of reach of sun- and moonlight. Hydrothermal vents are likely influenced by tidal forces that cause changes in temperature, chemical composition, and pressure, to name a few. Recent work even shows that deep-sea tides can have profound influences on sessile benthic communities. The vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus, a deep-sea mollusk, exhibits these rhythms and can make up more than half of the biomass at hydrothermal vents.​ We will delve into the mysteries behind these rhythms: What purpose do they serve in such extreme environments? How dark is the deep-sea really and could radiation (within or beyond the visible spectrum) emitted by the vents and/or light-producing creatures influence deep-sea rhythms? Can artificial light, for instance from deep-sea mining, perturb them? How do the rhythms originate and stabilize on population and molecular scales? What role do rhythms and inner oscillators play on the fitness and health of individuals and populations? How do they compare to rhythms present in shallow water mollusks and what can that tell us about how rhythms evolve? Hydrothermal vents are also areas of important geochemical and thermal exchanges, and deep sea tides can influence the direction of hydrothermal fluids, i.e., hot liquids emitted from vents with sulfide, hydrogen, methane and iron ion concentrations >1000 fold higher than surrounding seawater. Animal communities that populate vent fields must be highly adapted to such dynamics.​ We will conduct our research at the “Lucky Strike” vent at -1700m as it offers a large record of chemical, oceanographic, physical and eukaryote species documentation data. Our interdisciplinary team includes a deep-sea ecologist, a molecular chronobiologist, an evolutionist, and a biophysicist." 

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