The strange ecosystem of hydrothermal vents

Deep under the oceans, next to hydrothermal vents issuing from cracked volcanic rocks ("black smokers"), live some of the most unusual animals ever seen. The photograph shows a "black smoker" in full flow, some 2250m down on the ocean floor west of Vancouver Island, on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. The water temperatures on the chimneys exceed 400 deg C. Surrounding the vents are tubeworms, a bizarre group of animals found only in conditions where high levels of hydrogen sulphide can fuel their internal symbionts, bacteria that manufacture food for them. Distribution of this fauna is related to the history of the tectonic development of the ridges, thus linking the geology and biology of this peculiar ecosystem. 

(Dr. Verena Tunnicliffe, Biology and SEOS, and Laurel Franklin, Biology)