Adaptations of hydrothermal vent organisms to their environment

Introduction The deep sea hydrothermal vents are one of the most unusual habitats found on earth (review in Humphris et al. 1995). Vents are surrounded by a dense community which is supported by primary production through chemoautotrophic bacteria. Most of this fauna is composed of sessile animals that harbor bacteria as intracellular symbionts. Such geothermally-driven communities are dependent on the reduced sulfur compounds found in the emerging hot hydrothermal fluid (up to 400°C), which are the main energy source for free-living and symbiotic bacteria.