Living on the Seafloor

Question 1

Characteristics of Deep Sea Benthic Environments

Answer 1

• Low availability of food
• No light so no photosynthesis
• Falling remains of dead organisms, decaying organic matter (Whale Falls)
• Low (0-2°C), relatively constant temperature
• High pressure (400-500 times atmospheric)

Question 2

Hydrothermal Vents

Answer 2

• associated with mid-ocean ridges, divergent plates
• Cold waters seeps into crust and are geothermally heated before being vented at very high temperatures.
• Vent waters are not only hot, but low in oxygen and rich in metals and hydrogen sulfide.

Question 3

Characteristics of

Balck Smokers

Answer 3

• Hottest
• Dark plumes
• High in sulfur
• Can form chimneys up to 18 stories tall

Question 3

Characteristics of

White Smoker

Answer 3

• Lightly colored
• Rich in barium, calcium, and silicon
• Cooler plumes than black smokers
• Smaller chimneys than black smokers

Question 4

Characteristics of

Seeps

Answer 4

• Coolest and weakest flow
• Shimmer due to difference in water temperature
• Can also bubble due to presence of gases

Question 5

What is chemosynthesis

Answer 5

• taking chemical engery found in hyrdogen sulifaide and convert it to glucose
• Occurs in absence of sunlgiht (energy from the sun)
• performed by chemosythtic bacteria
• Forms the base of food web in some deep-sea ecosystems

Question 6

Chemosynthesis Word Formula

Answer 6

Carbon dioxiode + hydrogen sulfide + oxygen -> glucose + sulfer + water

Question 7

Chemosynthisis Formula

Answer 7

CO2 + H2O + H2S -> C6H12O6 + H2SO4

Question 8

Succession at a hydrothermal vent

Answer 8

• Chemosythetic bacteria settle first
• Tevnia tube worms appear living symbiotically with bacteria
• Riftia tubeworm replaces Tevnia over time
• other species such as crabs arrive
  a complex food web developes centerd on chemosythesis