Megafauna in the periphery of an active vent field on the Central Indian Ridge

作者：Monika Neufeld, A. Metaxas, Klaas Meyn, Craig J. Brown · 发表于：Deep Sea Research Part I Oceanographic Research Papers · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1016/j.dsr.2026.104711 · 研究领域：Marine Biology and Ecology Research、Geological formations and processes、Geology and Paleoclimatology Research

Benthic communities inhabiting the periphery of active hydrothermal vent fields have not been well characterized, including how they are influenced by adjacent active vents. In this study, we investigated patterns in the distribution of megafauna relative to distance from active venting, substrate type, and seabed terrain attributes using multivariate techniques. Video footage of the seabed and bathymetric data were collected in 2018 and 2019 at an active vent field (∼20 km from Kairei) within the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) contract area on the Central Indian Ridge. The distribution of individual taxa revealed possible habitat preferences that may be related to local water dynamics or food availability. We identified three megafaunal assemblages: a ‘vent-associated’ assemblage located near active vent sites and dominated by symbiont-hosting shrimp and predatory anemones; a ‘sponge-dominated’ assemblage linked to bathymetry rather than vent activity; and an ‘anemone-dominated’ assemblage that also included taxa from the other assemblages. Total faunal abundance decreased with distance from vent activity up to approximately 200 m, suggesting a transition zone of vent influence. Although our findings indicate that active vents play a role in structuring benthic megafaunal communities on the surrounding deep-sea environment, the extent of vent influence and drivers of faunal abundance are still not well constrained. We discuss sampling methods t...