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- Title
Polar lipid fatty acids as indicators of trophic associations in a deep-sea vent system community.
- Authors
Colaço, Ana; Desbruyères, Daniel; Guezennec, Jean
- Abstract
The polar lipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles of invertebrates living in chemosynthetic communities can indicate the degree to which these animals depend on specific types of bacteria. To identify the nutritional sources of various species from deep-sea hydrothermal vents of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a Principal Component Analysis was performed using individual PLFA profiles as descriptors. Two associations representing different feeding groups were identified: (i) mussels, commensal polychaetes and gastropods, (ii) shrimps and crabs. The first association relies more on sulphide-oxidizing bacteria, while the second one has more anaerobic sulphate-reducing bacteria biomarkers. Other small invertebrates reveal different diets. The polychaete Amathys lutzi shows the most diversified bacterial diet, with fatty acid biomarkers from both S-oxidizing and S-reducing bacteria.
- Subjects
MID-Atlantic Ridge; HYDROTHERMAL vent ecology; FATTY acids; LIPIDS; DEEP-sea ecology; MUSSELS; PRINCIPAL components analysis
- Publication
Marine Ecology, 2007, Vol 28, Issue 1, p15
- ISSN
0173-9565
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1439-0485.2006.00123.x