Stable isotopic insights into Bathymodiolus childressi at two seeps in the U.S. Atlantic margin
Dates
Publication Date
2019-05-20
Start Date
2012-08-17
End Date
2017-05-11
Citation
Demopoulos, A.W., McClain-Counts, J., Bourque, J., Prouty, N., Smith, B., Brooke, S., Ross, S.W., and Ruppel, C., 2019, Stable isotopic insights into Bathymodiolus childressi at two seeps in the U.S. Atlantic margin: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P92KEVAT.
Summary
Chemosynthetic environments support distinct benthic communities capable of utilizing reduced chemical compounds for nutrition. Hundreds of methane seeps have been documented along the U.S. Atlantic margin (USAM), and detailed investigations at a few seeps have revealed distinct environments containing mussels, microbial mats, authigenic carbonates, and soft sediments. The dominant mussel Bathymodiolus childressi contains methanotrophic endosymbionts but is also capable of filter feeding. We used SIA (δ13C, δ 5N, and δ34S) and an isotope mixing model (MixSIAR) to estimate resource contribution to B. childressi and characterize food webs at two seep sites (Baltimore Seep: 400 m and Norfolk Seep: 1500 m depths) along the USAM, and applied [...]
Summary
Chemosynthetic environments support distinct benthic communities capable of utilizing reduced chemical compounds for nutrition. Hundreds of methane seeps have been documented along the U.S. Atlantic margin (USAM), and detailed investigations at a few seeps have revealed distinct environments containing mussels, microbial mats, authigenic carbonates, and soft sediments. The dominant mussel Bathymodiolus childressi contains methanotrophic endosymbionts but is also capable of filter feeding. We used SIA (δ13C, δ 5N, and δ34S) and an isotope mixing model (MixSIAR) to estimate resource contribution to B. childressi and characterize food webs at two seep sites (Baltimore Seep: 400 m and Norfolk Seep: 1500 m depths) along the USAM, and applied a linear mixed-effects model to explore the role of mussel population density and tissue type in influencing SIA variance.
Demopoulos, A.W.J., McClain-Counts, J., Bourque, J.R., Prouty, N., Smith, B.J., Brooke, S., Ross, S.W., and Ruppel, C., 2019, Examination of Bathymodiolus childressi nutritional sources, isotopic niches, and food-web linkages at two seeps in the US Atlantic margin using stable isotope analysis and mixing models: Deep Sea Research Part 1: Oceanographic Research Papers, Available Online, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2019.04.002.
Data were collected as part of a larger project and were obtained in order to assess the trophic ecology of Bathymodiolus childressi in chemosynthetic seeps to inform conservation and management decisions.
