Nutritional associations among fauna at hydrocarbon seep communities in the Gulf of Mexico

A hydrothermal seep on the Costa Rica margin: middle ground in a continuum of reducing ecosystems

“…Notably, the attached filamentous bacteria bathed by hydrothermal fluids are also light (d 13 C ¼ 240‰), potentially reflecting a light DIC pool and methane influence, or an association with methylotrophs [59]. Similar trophic pathways have been reported from seeps in the Gulf of Mexico [60] and Anya's Garden, a sedimented vent on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge [61]. While vents and seep organisms share carbon fixation pathways, vent and seep invertebrate assemblages exhibit distinct average Elevated temperatures associated with methane seepage have been reported previously (electronic supplemental material, table S7).…”

Deep-sea echinoids and holothurians (Echinodermata) near cold seeps and coral communities in the northern Gulf of Mexico

“…With a few notable exceptions, such as apodous holothurians (Smirnov et al 2000, Pawson and Vance 2004 and sea stars (MacAvoy et al 2002(MacAvoy et al , 2005, echinoderms seldom exploit cold seeps and their closely associated biota as food sources (Carney 2010). Of the 52 images of echinoids and holothurians forming the basis of the present study, only two showed echinoids, both of them Gracilechinus alexandri (Danielssen and Koren, 1882) (Fig.…”

New records of Phascolosoma turnerae (Sipuncula: Phascolosomatidae) from the Balearic Basin, Mediterranean Sea

“…However, in the review of the subgenus Phascolosoma achieved by Cutler & Cutler (1990), they identified further specimens from bathyal depths in the Gulf of Mexico, but this time the association was noted with tubeworm aggregations near a cold water seep. Other more ecological papers (Olu et al, 1996(Olu et al, , 2010MacAvoy et al 2005;Cordes et al, 2006Cordes et al, , 2007 reported the species also in mussel beds and sediments at the base of the tubeworm aggregations from different cold seep sites around the Gulf of Mexico, but also offshore the Orinoco River delta in South America (at 1950 -2080 m deep in sediment samples).…”