Dynamic character of the hydrothermal vent habitat and the nature of sulphide chimney fauna

A major substratum for vent organisms on Juan de Fuca and Explorer Ridges of the northeast Pacific is the polymetallic sulphide chimney. The deposition processes and subsequent growth of such chimneys provide a dynamic and extreme habitat that changes rapidly. During initial venting stages, colonization must await stabilization of the chimney structure. As the porous anhydrite shell accumulates sulphide minerals, protection from direct hot water contact increases for organisms colonizing the outer walls while sufficient vent water still diffuses for the support of chemosynthesis. Vestimentiferan worms are found on small sulphide mounds but the active growth and collapse of anhydrite spires is a major source of disruption and mortality. High temperature venting and spire growth appear to attract alvinellid polychaetes which may be implicated in the process of strengthening and sealing the anhydrite spires. Fauna on the growing chimney is subject to changes in fluid flow patterns that can make the structure uninhabitable. Large chimneys are inhabited by more species indicating that a diversification of habitat results from variations in mineralization and fluid availability. Chimney fauna has become specialized in exploiting an unpredictable and unstable habitat in an extreme example of the control of biotic development by the physical environment.