Journal
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
Volume 405, Issue -, Pages 187-201Publisher
INTER-RESEARCH
DOI: 10.3354/meps08515
Keywords
Bathymodiolus azoricus; Particulate and dissolved material; Nitrogen and carbon assimilation; Deep sea; Hydrothermal vent; Mussel
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Funding
- EU [MoMARNET-FP6-RTN/2003/505026, EVK3-CT1999-00003]
- Research Foundation Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen) [G.0632.06]
- Direccao Regional de Ciencia e Tecnologia (DRCT) [DRCT M2.1.1/I/008/2005]
- FCT (Portugal)
- Azorean Regional Directorate for Science and Technology (DRCT, Azores, Portugal)
- Natural Environment Research Council [MBA010001] Funding Source: researchfish
- NERC [MBA010001] Funding Source: UKRI
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Bathymodiolus azoricus mussels thrive 840 to 2300 m deep at hydrothermal vents of the Azores Triple Junction on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Although previous studies have suggested a mixotrophic regime for this species, no analysis has yet yielded direct evidence for the assimilation of particulate material. In the present study, tracer experiments in aquaria with C-13- and N-15-labelled amino acids and marine cyanobacteria demonstrate for the first time the incorporation of dissolved and particulate organic matter in soft tissues of vent mussel. The observation of phytoplanktonic tests in wild mussel stomachs highlights the occurrence of in situ ingestion of sea-surface-derived material. Particulate organic carbon fluxes in sediment traps moored away from direct vent influence are in agreement with carbon export estimates from the surface ocean above the vents attenuated by microbial degradation. Stable isotope composition of trapped organic matter is similar to values published in the literature, but is enriched by +7 parts per thousand in C-13 and +13 parts per thousand in N-15, relative to mussel gill tissue from the Menez Gwen vent. Although this observation suggests a negligible contribution of photosynthetically produced organic matter to the diet of B. azoricus, the tracer experiments demonstrate that active suspension-feeding on particles and dissolved organic matter could contribute to the C and N budget of the mussel and should not be neglected.
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