title: Rotifers colonising sediments with shallow gas hydrates.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: GEOMAR, Forschungszentrum für Marine Geowissenschaften, Universität Kiel, Wischhofstrasse 1-3, 24148, Kiel, Germany. ssommer@geomar.de
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gutzmann
authors.forename: Wilko
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ahlrichs
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Pfannkuche
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004777:Environment; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D011156:Population Density; D012403:Rotifera / Q000254:growth & development; D012623:Seawater