Rotifers colonising sediments with shallow gas hydrates.
Rotifers, one of the smallest metazoans, are only seldom found in marine environments. Surprisingly, we discovered high abundances of at least two new species of rotifers settling in anoxic and highly sulphidic sediments associated with shallow gas hydrates (GH) at the southern crest of Hydrate Ridge off Oregon, NE Pacific, in a water depth of about 780 m. At basins adjacent to Hydrate Ridge, 1,285-2,304 m deep, we found rotifers co-occurring with the sulphide-oxidising bacteria Thioploca sp.
Sommer
Stefan
S
GEOMAR, Forschungszentrum für Marine Geowissenschaften, Universität Kiel, Wischhofstrasse 1-3, 24148, Kiel, Germany. ssommer@geomar.de
Gutzmann
Erik
E
Ahlrichs
Wilko
W
Pfannkuche
Olaf
O
D000818:Animals; D004777:Environment; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D011156:Population Density; D012403:Rotifera / Q000254:growth & development; D012623:Seawater