New perspectives on the ecology and evolution of siboglinid tubeworms

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 6; no. 2; p. e16309
• Main Authors: Hilário, Ana, Capa, María, Dahlgren, Thomas G, Halanych, Kenneth M, Little, Crispin T S, Thornhill, Daniel J, Verna, Caroline, Glover, Adrian G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 14.02.2011; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Animals; Annelida; Annelida - genetics; Annelida - physiology; Aquatic Organisms - genetics; Aquatic Organisms - physiology; Biological Evolution; Biology; Deep sea; Dissolved organic matter; Ecology; Ecosystem; Evolution; Fossils; Hydrothermal systems (Geology); Laboratories; Museums; Oceans and Seas; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Pogonophora; Polychaeta; Publishing; Review; Riftia pachyptila; Science; Sclerolinum; Sediments (Geology); Siboglinidae; Siboglinum fiordicum; Studies; Symbiosis - physiology; Taxonomy; Volcanoes; Zoologi; Zoology
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016309

[...]the discovery of a new group of deep-sea creatures [29] and the creation of a new phylum, Pogonophora [30] grabbed media headlines in the 1950s [31], as did the discovery of a new family of Pogonophora, the Riftiidae, on hydrothermal vents in the 1970s [15]. Frenulates, notwithstanding some exceptions, are found mainly in organic-rich, reduced sediments. Because frenulates can transport dissolved organic matter across their tube and body wall [105], sulphide is presumably transported across the thin tube that is buried in the sediment, but data supporting this are scarce. Life-history theory predicts traits that maximize fitness of an organism in the particular environment where it lives. [...]differences between siboglinid habitats are expected to have a role in the evolution of life-history traits, including fecundity, breeding strategy and developmental mode. Osedax have evolved a specialized strategy to ensure reproductive success; females host dwarf males in their tubes assuring sperm availability (Figure 7b, [25], [124]). [...]vestimentiferans and Osedax both utilize strategies in environments where periodic cues for gametogenesis and spawning synchrony are limited [139] and mate acquisition is not guaranteed.