One of the big questions about hydrothermal vents - oases of life on the dark floor of the deep sea - is how their animal populations arrive there. The vents are widely separated on the mid-ocean ridge, and most individual vents have short lifetimes of perhaps a few years. Recent field studies indicate that the young or larval stages of vent animals ride currents, including those generated by heat from the vents, to favorable locations-but there's a lot to learn about how the vent faunas maintain their biodiversity and geographic ranges.

Lauren Mullineaux and Mike Neubert are investigating the consequences of migration on vent ecology by combining a modeling approach with ongoing field studies of larval dispersal, colonization, and gene flow. Lauren conducts larval studies at vents, and Mike uses models to understand effects of migration on the structure and dynamics of communities in a wide range of habitats. Supported by the first award from The Lawrence J. Pratt and Melinda M. Hall Endowed Fund for Interdisciplinary Research, they are exploring the suitability of different modeling approaches for studying vent ecosystems. The two biologists initiated a series of weekly discussions among interested faculty, students, postdoctoral scholars, and staff in order to identify specific vent questions that could benefit from modeling, develop appropriate models, and investigate speculations in the vent literature that seem to be at odds with ecological theory.

One of the important applications of their work will be for decisions on vent conservation ecology, such as the establishment of marine protected areas. These would define reasonable activities for vent research, eco-tourism (dives in the Russian Mir submersibles have recently been offered at vent sites), and mining of the mineral deposits at active vents. The models that Neubert, Mullineaux, and their colleagues are developing will help scientists to predict the potential effects of these activities, and assist policy makers to design effective management plans.

This group of students, postdocs, and scientists meets frequently to discuss population and community dynamics at hydrothermal vents. They are (back row, from left) Mike Neubert (also shown working at the blackboard above left), Lauren Mullineaux, Diane Poehls, Susan Mills, and Claudio DiBacco; (front row) Lara Gulmann, Heidi Fuchs, Stace Beaulieu, and Rob Jennings. The subjects of their discussions include the galatheid crabs pictured above right on a pile of mussels at a hydrothermal vent site.