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Vestimentiferan on a whale fall
R A Feldman1, T M Shank, M B Black
1Center for Theoretical and Applied Genetics, Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903-0231, USA. rfeldman@diversa.com
The Biological Bulletin
|May 30, 1998
Summary
Whale falls may facilitate marine species dispersal. Researchers found a vestimentiferan tubeworm, previously absent from whale falls, suggesting these sites support wider deep-sea ecosystem connections.
Area of Science:
- Marine Biology
- Deep-Sea Ecology
- Chemosymbiosis
Background:
- Whale falls support chemosynthetic communities, proposing them as dispersal stepping-stones between deep-sea vents and cold seeps.
- The absence of vestimentiferan tubeworms from whale falls has challenged this hypothesis.
- Vestimentiferans are key fauna in hydrothermal vent and cold seep ecosystems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence of vestimentiferan tubeworms at whale falls.
- To assess the implications for the whale fall stepping-stone hypothesis.
- To characterize associated microbial endosymbionts.
Main Methods:
- Morphological identification of tubeworms found on whale remains.
- DNA sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase C subunit I (COI) gene for species identification.
- Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene of bacterial endosymbionts.
Main Results:
- First documented evidence of a vestimentiferan tubeworm (Escarpia spicata) associated with a whale fall.
- The tubeworm's bacterial endosymbiont showed similarity to those from cold-seep vestimentiferans.
- This finding addresses a major objection to the whale fall stepping-stone hypothesis.
Conclusions:
- Whale falls can host key species like vestimentiferan tubeworms, supporting their role in deep-sea dispersal.
- The presence of specific endosymbionts suggests functional links between whale fall and seep ecosystems.
- This discovery strengthens the whale fall hypothesis for connecting disparate chemosynthetic communities.