NOOA Ocean Explorer / National Exploration and Research
Info
Very few people will ever encounter the sessile beardworm Riftia pachyptila in the wild, i.e. in the depths of the Pacific Ocean.
Only with the help of special deep-sea submersibles is a glimpse into this biotope of black smokers and white smokers even possible,
and the question arises, how the filigree appearing tubeworms are able to live and feed in the depth and the proximity to the hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the deep sea.
Healthy coral reefs are among the most species-rich biotopes and thermal smokers are the most densely populated habitats in the deep sea!
An incredible number and even unknown species of animals occur here, such as the colonial tubeworms Oasisia alvinae and Tevnia jerichonana, a wide variety of shrimp and crab species, bivalves, actinia and fish.
On the diet of worms:
Many corals have entered into a symbiotic relationship with energy-providing dinoflagellates (zooxanthellae); Riftia pachyptila has also entered into such a symbiotic relationship with bacteria.
The symbiotic sulfur bacteria carry out an oxidation of sulfide with oxygen (chemosynthesis) to obtain energy, which is passed on to the worm host.
The endosymbionts have other tasks that the mouth- and gutless worm cannot perform, such as the disposal of waste products; the worm is left only with the task of supplying its symbionts with sufficient oxygen and sulfide.
It is interesting to note that juvenile worms do not yet have endosymbiotic bacteria, on the contrary, the young worms eat the bacteria during the first period of their life, later the bacteria penetrate the worm's tissues via the body surface and settle there.
Only with the help of special deep-sea submersibles is a glimpse into this biotope of black smokers and white smokers even possible,
and the question arises, how the filigree appearing tubeworms are able to live and feed in the depth and the proximity to the hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the deep sea.
Healthy coral reefs are among the most species-rich biotopes and thermal smokers are the most densely populated habitats in the deep sea!
An incredible number and even unknown species of animals occur here, such as the colonial tubeworms Oasisia alvinae and Tevnia jerichonana, a wide variety of shrimp and crab species, bivalves, actinia and fish.
On the diet of worms:
Many corals have entered into a symbiotic relationship with energy-providing dinoflagellates (zooxanthellae); Riftia pachyptila has also entered into such a symbiotic relationship with bacteria.
The symbiotic sulfur bacteria carry out an oxidation of sulfide with oxygen (chemosynthesis) to obtain energy, which is passed on to the worm host.
The endosymbionts have other tasks that the mouth- and gutless worm cannot perform, such as the disposal of waste products; the worm is left only with the task of supplying its symbionts with sufficient oxygen and sulfide.
It is interesting to note that juvenile worms do not yet have endosymbiotic bacteria, on the contrary, the young worms eat the bacteria during the first period of their life, later the bacteria penetrate the worm's tissues via the body surface and settle there.
