High functional vulnerability across the world's deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities

Area of Science:

• Marine biology
• Deep-sea ecology
• Biogeography

Background:

• Deep-sea hydrothermal vents harbor endemic fauna reliant on chemosynthetic bacteria.
• These ecosystems face extreme conditions: high temperatures, toxic sulfides, and low oxygen.
• Global vent fauna exhibit high phylogenetic distinctness despite regional similarities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if extreme vent environments globally select for functionally similar species.
• To assess the interplay between geographic isolation and functional trait convergence.
• To understand the implications of species loss on vent ecosystem function.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of species pools across global hydrothermal vent sites.
• Assessment of functional redundancy and uniqueness based on species traits.
• Simulations of species extinctions to predict ecosystem collapse.

Main Results:

• High functional redundancy observed within regional species pools, indicating selection for specific traits.
• Some regions identified as functional hotspots with distinct trait compositions.
• A significant proportion of species are functionally unique due to low species richness.

Conclusions:

• Extreme vent environments drive functional convergence but also result in unique species compositions.
• Loss of functionally unique species poses a high risk of ecosystem collapse.
• Precautionary measures are crucial to protect deep-sea vents from human-induced threats and climate change.