Characterization of Hydrothermal Vent Faunal Assemblages in the Mariana Back-Arc Spreading Centre
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Characterization of hydrothermal vent faunal assemblages in the Mariana Back-Arc Spreading Centre by Thomas Normand Giguère B.Sc., University of Guelph, 2017 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences © Thomas Normand Giguère, 2020 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii Supervisory Committee Characterization of hydrothermal vent faunal assemblages in the Mariana Back-Arc Spreading Centre by Thomas Normand Giguère B.Sc. University of Guelph, 2017 Supervisory Committee Dr. Verena Tunnicliffe, School of Earth and Ocean Sciences Supervisor Dr. John Dower, School of Earth and Ocean Sciences Departmental Member Dr. Brian Starzomski, School of Environmental Studies Outside Member iii Abstract Researchers have learned much about the biological assemblages that form around hydrothermal vents. However, identities of species in these assemblages and their basic ecological features are often lacking. In 2015, the first leg of the Hydrothermal Hunt expedition identified likely new vent sites in the Mariana Back-arc Spreading Center (BASC). In 2016, the second leg of the expedition used a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to confirm and sample two new sites and two previously known sites. My first objective is to identify the animals collected from these four vent sites. In these samples, I identify 42 animal taxa, including the discovery of four new vent-associated species, five potentially new species and six taxa not previously reported in the Mariana BASC vents. My second objective is to combine these new data with previous studies and examine the species distributions among all known vent sites in the Mariana BASC using the α-, β-, and γ-diversity framework. I present updated species absence-presence lists for all eight Mariana BASC vent sites, which begin to resolve some of the issues with species identification. In this thesis, my approach to assessing β-diversity is novel in the field of hydrothermal vent ecology. My work also provides the first intra-regional scale assessments of β-diversity that include all sites known in a vent system. My third objective is to explore environmental factors driving these species distribution patterns. The α-diversity of BASC vent sites gradually increases with latitude, and the β-diversity calculated using the Raup-Crick index correlates with distance to nearby vent sites. Stochastic assembly processes likely shape the diversity patterns throughout the Mariana BASC as few environmental variables are known to correlate with these patterns. My fourth objective is to compare the β-diversity patterns between the Mariana BASC vent sites and those in two other vent systems: the Mariana Arc and the Juan de Fuca Ridge. The γ- and average α-diversity values for the BASC vents are relatively low compared to the other two systems. The Jaccard index revealed that the average number of iv shared species among the Arc vent sites is much lower than those of the BASC and the Juan de Fuca Ridge. The Raup-Crick index indicates that stochastic processes explain the average β- diversity of the Mariana BASC vents better than those of the Mariana Arc and Juan de Fuca Ridge. v Table of Contents Supervisory Committee .............................................................................................................. ii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ v List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ viii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. x Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... xii Dedication ................................................................................................................................. xiii Chapter 1: General Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 Species Diversity and Distributions ............................................................................... 1 Hydrothermal Vents and Their Biotic Assemblages ................................................... 5 Vent Diversity .................................................................................................................. 8 Study System - The Mariana Back-Arc Spreading Centre ......................................... 12 Hydrothermal Hunt Cruises .......................................................................................... 19 References ........................................................................................................................ 22 Chapter 2: Diversity Distribution of Hydrothermal Vent Fauna ......................................... 28 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 28 Beta Diversity ....................................................................................................... 28 Mariana BASC Hydrothermal Vents ................................................................ 31 Mariana BASC Vent Fauna ............................................................................... 33 Objectives ............................................................................................................. 34 Methods ............................................................................................................................ 35 Sampling Locations ............................................................................................. 35 Sample Collection ................................................................................................ 35 Sample Processing and Identification ............................................................... 36 Determination of a New Shrimp Species ........................................................... 37 Distributions of Species ....................................................................................... 38 Data Processing ................................................................................................... 38 Data Analysis ....................................................................................................... 39 Results .............................................................................................................................. 45 Taxa Identified from the Sample Collection ..................................................... 45 vi Features of the Biological Collection ..................................................... 45 Reliance on Taxonomic Identification Methods ................................... 45 Undescribed Species ................................................................................ 50 The Snail Graveyard ............................................................................... 55 Mariana BASC Species Richness & Distribution Patterns ............................. 55 Other Regional Species Richness and Distribution Patterns .......................... 62 Vent System Comparisons .................................................................................. 64 Discussion......................................................................................................................... 68 The Challenges of Hydrothermal Vent Diversity Studies ............................... 68 Faunal Diversity of the Central Mariana BASC Vent Sites ............................ 70 New Species of Rimicaris Shrimp ....................................................................... 77 The Snail Graveyard ........................................................................................... 78 Alpha Diversity in the Mariana BASC .............................................................. 79 Beta Diversity in the Mariana BASC ................................................................ 80 Regional Comparisons ........................................................................................ 82 The Mariana Region ........................................................................................... 84 References ........................................................................................................................ 88 Chapter 3: Conclusions and Future Directions........................................................................ 95 Major Outcomes.............................................................................................................. 95 Collected Taxa ..................................................................................................... 95 Diversity Distributions in the Mariana BASC .................................................. 96 Environmental Drivers ....................................................................................... 97 Regional Comparisons ........................................................................................ 97 Big Picture ......................................................................................................................