Spatial patterns of zooplankton and nekton in a hydrothermally active axial valley on Juan de Fuca Ridge

Zooplankton and nekton at 2000 m depth in the axial valley of Endeavour Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge, show marked variability in abundances in a plane at 20 m above bottom. A remotely operated vehicle flew a gridded rectangle 3.2×0.5 km that included two large high-temperature and two small low-temperature vent fields. Numbers of zooplankton, jellyfish, shrimp and fish were recorded with a video camera, and the abundance patterns were examined with the program SADIE©. Each organism group displayed a distinctive distribution pattern. Abundance gaps over the high-temperature fields were significant and, for the more abundant copepods, were related to the locations of individual smokers. Pelagic shrimp and macrourid fish abundances were correlated and concentrated around the northern high temperature field. Distinct aggregations of zooplankton and nekton were correlated with the fluid indicators from both the low temperature diffuse effluent and the focused high temperature vents. Patterns were likely established by organism choice that forms aggregations and gaps, and by physical processes that entrain passive particles near vigorous smoker plumes. While enhanced plankton and nekton numbers were not observed over the vent fields, overall abundances in the axial valley may be sustained by production transported from the vent fields on the seafloor.