Hydrothermal Vents

Question 1

Endemism

Answer 1

Species that are found exclusively in association with a specific geographical region or habitat

Question 2

Hydrothermal vents have a _____ level of endemism

Answer 2

High

Question 3

How many species only exist on hydrothermal events

Answer 3

Little less than 500

Question 4

What type of flow do hydrothermal vents have?

Answer 4

Convection-based flow

Question 5

How do hydrothermal vents work? 3 basic steps

Answer 5

1. Water gets drawn in
2. Gets heated and induces with energy rich compounds
3. Hot water is spit out of the vents

Question 6

Do hydrothermal vents last forever?

Answer 6

No

Question 7

Why doesn’t the water around hydrothermal vents boil?

Answer 7

Under extreme amounts of pressure

Question 8

What is the base of the energy source around hydrothermal vents

Answer 8

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S)

Question 9

What are the two main things that subsist off H2S?

Answer 9

“Free living” bacteria and symbiotic (lives in a host) bacteria

Question 10

The free living bacteria near hydrothermal vents are eaten by

Answer 10

Grazers and filter feeders

Question 11

Yeti crab/squat lobster adaptions to living in hydrothermal vents

Answer 11

• reduced eyes, may be blind
• setae along arms contain filamentous bacteria which preform chemosynthesis
• harvests bacteria from body

Question 12

Scaly foot snail/sea pangolin adaptions

Answer 12

• growths chemosynthetic bacteria in their throats that they supply with H2S and oxygen
• has a “foot” that is covered with scaled made of iron pyrite, which draws sulfur away from soft tissues