[na]

na asked the Naked Scientists:

I was listening to a back dated naked scientist pod-cast from 2007, where you discuss deep-sea tube-worms that thrive around deep-sea volcanic vents with Dr. Crispin Little. These hydro-thermal vents do not last forever and I've always wondered how the organisms that rely on these vents manage to move from vent to vent, especially the tube worms?


What do you think?

[chris]

I'll have to look into this. One presumes that it's their larvae (progeny) that are mobile in water and can migrate to find the most propitious home.

Chris

[blakestyger]

When the eggs hatch out they become planckton that drift on the ocean currents and the chance that one gets to a vent is incredibly small  - however, there are so many millions of eggs produced that some inevitably find their way to a new vent.

[ukmicky]

How about the fish and crabs that only inhabit these vents and cant survive anywhere else can they move between vents or would the cold sea inbetween kill them.

[chris]

The interesting thing about those worms is that they don't even have mouths! They provide a suitable environment for bacteria to colonise certain surfaces in their bodies, and then live off the energy fed to them by the bacteria. A truly fascinating life form.

Chris

[blakestyger]

How about the fish and crabs that only inhabit these vents and cant survive anywhere else can they move between vents or would the cold sea inbetween kill them.

In exactly the same way.

[thedoc]

Listen to the answer to this question on our podcast.