@article {Sen2013,
	title = {{Distribution of mega fauna on sulfide edifices on the Eastern Lau Spreading Center and Valu Fa Ridge}},
	journal = {Deep-Sea Research. Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers},
	volume = {72},
	year = {2013},
	pages = {48{\textendash}60},
	abstract = {Hydrothermal vent sulfide edifices contain some of the most extreme thermal and chemical conditions in which animals are able to live. As a result, sulfide edifices in the East Pacific Rise, Juan de Fuca Ridge, and Mid Atlantic Ridge vent systems often contain distinct faunal assemblages. In this study, we used high-resolution imagery and in-situ physico-chemical measurements within the context of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to examine community structure and niche differentiation of dominant fauna on sulfide edifices in the Eastern Lau Spreading Center (ELSC) and Valu Fa Ridge (VFR) in the Western Pacific Ocean. Our results show that ELSC and VFR sulfide edifices host two distinct types of communities. One type, that covers the majority of sulfide edifice faces, is overall very similar to nearby lava communities and biomass is dominated by the same chemoautotrophic symbiont-containing molluscs that dominate lava communities, namely the provannid gastropods Alviniconcha spp. and Ifremeria nautilei and the mytilid bivalve Bathymodiolus brevior. The spatial distribution of the dominant molluscs is often a variation of the pattern of concentric rings observed on lavas, with Alviniconcha spp. at the tops of edifices where exposure to vent flow is the highest, and I. nautilei and B. brevior below. Our physico-chemical measurements indicate that because of rapid dispersion of vent fluid, habitable area for symbiont-containing fauna is quite limited on sulfide edifices, and the realized niches of the mollusc groups are narrower on sulfide edifices than on lavas. We suggest that competition plays an important role in determining the realized distributions of the mollusc groups on edifices. The other habitat, present in small patches of presumably hot, new anhydrite, is avoided by the dominant symbiont-containing molluscs and inhabited by crabs, shrimp and polynoids that are likely more heat tolerant. The ratio of sulfide concentration to temperature anomaly of vent fluids was significantly different between sulfide edifice sites and lava sites in the southern vent fields but not in the northern vent fields. We suggest that this is due to increased sulfide consumption by a large microbial consortium associated with the more friable andesitic lava substrates in the south.},
	keywords = {ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {0967-0637},
	doi = {10.1016/j.dsr.2012.11.003},
	url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967063712002233},
	author = {Sen, A and Becker, E L and Podowski, E L and Wickes, L N and Ma, S and Mullaugh, K M and Hourdez, S and Luther, G W and Fisher, C R}
}
@article {Beinart2012,
	title = {{Evidence for the role of endosymbionts in regional-scale habitat partitioning by hydrothermal vent symbioses}},
	journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
	volume = {109},
	number = {47},
	year = {2012},
	month = {nov},
	pages = {E3241{\textendash}E3250},
	abstract = {Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are populated by dense communities of animals that form symbiotic associations with chemolithoautotrophic bacteria. To date, our understanding of which factors govern the distribution of host/symbiont associations (or holobionts) in nature is limited, although host physiology often is invoked. In general, the role that symbionts play in habitat utilization by vent holobionts has not been thoroughly addressed. Here we present evidence for symbiont-influenced, regional-scale niche partitioning among symbiotic gastropods (genus Alviniconcha) in the Lau Basin. We extensively surveyed Alviniconcha holobionts from four vent fields using quantitative molecular approaches, coupled to characterization of high-temperature and diffuse vent-fluid composition using gastight samplers and in situ electrochemical analyses, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses exposed cryptic host and symbiont diversity, revealing three distinct host types and three different symbiont phylotypes (one $ε$-proteobacteria and two $\gamma$-proteobacteria) that formed specific associations with one another. Strikingly, we observed that holobionts with $ε$-proteobacterial symbionts were dominant at the northern fields, whereas holobionts with $\gamma$-proteobacterial symbionts were dominant in the southern fields. This pattern of distribution corresponds to differences in the vent geochemistry that result from deep subsurface geological and geothermal processes. We posit that the symbionts, likely through differences in chemolithoautotrophic metabolism, influence niche utilization among these holobionts. The data presented here represent evidence linking symbiont type to habitat partitioning among the chemosynthetic symbioses at hydrothermal vents and illustrate the coupling between subsurface geothermal processes and niche availability.},
	keywords = {ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {0027-8424},
	doi = {10.1073/pnas.1202690109},
	author = {Beinart, R A and Sanders, J G and Faure, B and Sylva, S P and Lee, R W and Becker, E L and Gartman, A and Luther, G W and Seewald, J S and Fisher, C R and Girguis, P R}
}
@article {Gartman2011,
	title = {{Sulfide Oxidation across Diffuse Flow Zones of Hydrothermal Vents}},
	journal = {Aquatic Geochemistry},
	volume = {17},
	number = {4-5},
	year = {2011},
	month = {sep},
	pages = {583{\textendash}601},
	publisher = {SPRINGER},
	address = {NEW YORK; 233 SPRING ST, NEW YORK, NY 10013 USA},
	abstract = {The sulfide (H(2)S/HS(-)) that is emitted from hydrothermal vents begins to oxidize abiotically with oxygen upon contact with ambient bottom water, but the reaction kinetics are slow. Here, using in situ voltammetry, we report detection of the intermediate sulfur oxidation products polysulfides [S(x)(2-)] and thiosulfate [S(2)O(3)(2-)], along with contextual data on sulfide, oxygen, and temperature. At Lau Basin in 2006, thiosulfate was identified in less than one percent of approximately 10,500 scans and no polysulfides were detected. Only five percent of 11,000 voltammetric scans taken at four vent sites at Lau Basin in May 2009 show either thiosulfate or polysulfides. These in situ data indicate that abiotic sulfide oxidation does not readily occur as H(2)S contacts oxic bottom waters. Calculated abiotic potential sulfide oxidation rates are},
	keywords = {ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {1380-6165},
	doi = {10.1007/s10498-011-9136-1},
	author = {Gartman, A and Yucel, M and Madison, A S and Chu, D W and Ma, S and Janzen, C P and Becker, E L and Beinart, R A and Girguis, P R and Luther, G W}
}
@article {Cordes2010,
	title = {{Influence of foundation species, depth, and location on diversity and community composition at Gulf of Mexico lower-slope cold seeps}},
	journal = {Deep-Sea Research. Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography},
	volume = {57},
	number = {21-23},
	year = {2010},
	pages = {1870{\textendash}1881},
	abstract = {Efforts to understand and preserve the seep communities of the deep Gulf of Mexico (GOM) begin with a comprehensive survey of the biodiversity of these communities. Previous studies have provided a conceptual model of the physiology, population, and community ecology of upper continental slope seeps. However, seeps at water depths below 1000 m in the Gulf of Mexico remain relatively unknown. In this study, data from 47 samples of tubeworm- and mussel-associated communities at depths of 1005{\textendash}2750 m are examined. Other than tubeworms and mussels, 66 taxa of macro- and megafauna were collected, 43 of which appear to be restricted to water depths of over 1000 m, and 39 that have not been reported previously from the Gulf of Mexico. Diversity in mussel beds was highest at mid-slope depths, but tubeworm-associated communities did not show clear bathymetric trends in diversity. Diversity was higher in tubeworm aggregations at the alpha level (per sample), but higher in mussel beds at the beta level (species turnover among collections). Although both community types were often numerically dominated by the endemic shrimp Alvinocaris muricola, broad differences in the communities hosted by tubeworm aggregations and mussel beds were apparent. The most important factors explaining community similarity within community type were the depth, relative abundance of different mussel species in a bed, and the average size of tubeworms in an aggregation. The high proportion of deep-seep species that were found for the first time in the Gulf of Mexico emphasizes the importance of conservation efforts for these patchy communities.},
	keywords = {HOV Alvin (Human Occupied Vehicle), ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {0967-0645},
	doi = {10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.05.010},
	url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.05.010},
	author = {Cordes, E E and Becker, E L and Hourdez, S and Fisher, C R}
}
@article {Becker2010,
	title = {{Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions of hydrocarbon-seep bivalves on the Gulf of Mexico lower continental slope}},
	journal = {Deep-Sea Research. Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography},
	volume = {57},
	number = {21-23},
	year = {2010},
	pages = {1957{\textendash}1964},
	abstract = {Stable isotope compositions of cold-seep bivalves can illuminate processes that affect the chemical and isotopic compositions of seeping fluids along the continental slope of the Gulf of Mexico as well as provide insight into the physiological ecology of these species. Carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions were analyzed in mussels and clams from 14 seep sites spanning a depth range of 1000 to 2800 m along the lower Louisiana slope of the Gulf of Mexico. Mussels of three species found on the lower slope, Bathymodiolus childressi, B. brooksi, and B. heckerae, showed site-specific differences in tissue $δ$13C, reflecting differences in the local methane pool. Mussels from sites on the lower slope sitting atop the contiguous salt sheet generally had tissue $δ$13C values that reflected a stronger biogenic methane signal (-70.8 to -58.8{\textperthousand}) than mussels on the upper slope or seaward of the Sigsbee Escarpment (-67.3 to -40.4{\textperthousand}). Clams (Calyptogena ponderosa and Calyptogena sp. nov.) had a narrow range of $δ$13C values between -37.0 and -34.4{\textperthousand}, indicating that their thiotrophic symbionts are fixing primarily seawater-dissolved organic carbon. The most depleted tissue $δ$15N values yet published for both mussels and clams are reported in this study at -23.7 and -9.2{\textperthousand}, respectively. These depleted values have implications for the assimilation of inorganic nitrogen by these symbioses and the concentrations of particular inorganic nitrogen sources in the local environment.},
	keywords = {HOV Alvin (Human Occupied Vehicle), ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {0967-0645},
	doi = {10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.05.002},
	url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.05.002},
	author = {Becker, E L and Lee, R W and Macko, S A and Faure, B M and Fisher, C R}
}
@article {Becker2009,
	title = {{Importance of seep primary production to Lophelia pertusa and associated fauna in the Gulf of Mexico}},
	journal = {Deep-Sea Research. Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers},
	volume = {56},
	number = {5},
	year = {2009},
	pages = {786{\textendash}800},
	keywords = {ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {0967-0637},
	doi = {10.1016/j.dsr.2008.12.006},
	url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2008.12.006},
	author = {Becker, E L and Cordes, E E and Macko, S A and Fisher, C R}
}
@article {Mullaugh2008,
	title = {{Voltammetric (micro)electrodes for the in situ study of Fe2+ oxidation kinetics in hot springs and S2O3-2- production at hydrothermal vents}},
	journal = {Electroanalysis},
	volume = {20},
	number = {3},
	year = {2008},
	pages = {280{\textendash}290},
	keywords = {ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {1040-0397},
	doi = {10.1002/elan.200704056},
	url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/elan.200704056},
	author = {Mullaugh, K M and Luther, G W and Ma, S and Moore, T S and Yucel, M and Becker, E L and Podowski, E L and Fisher, C R and Trouwborst, R E and Pierson, B K}
}
