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Page 26 of 26
A hydrothermal vent community depends on chemosynthetic bacteria for food. The water that comes out of the hydrothermal vent is both rich in dissolved minerals and chemosynthetic bacteria. These bacteria use sulfur compounds to produce organic material through the process of chemosynthesis.
The bacteria then grow into a thick mat which attracts other organisms such as amphipods and copepods which graze upon the bacteria directly. Larger organisims such as snails, shrimp, crabs, tube worms, fish, and octopuses form a food chain of predator and prey relationships above the herbivores. The ecosystem so formed is reliant upon the continued existence of the hydrothermal vent field as the primary source of energy, which is dissimilar to the wider Earth where solar energy is the basis for life.
Tube worms are a main part of a hydrothermal vent. The tube worms are unique in that they directly absorb nutrients into their tissues. The two species that inhabite a hydrothermal vent are Tevnia jerichonana, and Riftia pachyptila.
Over 300 new species have been discovered at hydrothermal vents.
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